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Mortgages continue to rise in Switzerland.
Picture: Keystone/Michael Buholzer
Financing home ownership is becoming even more expensive: mortgage interest rates are rising across all terms. Long-term loans are particularly affected - a trend that could continue.
The cost of real estate financing in Switzerland is rising sharply - and there is no end in sight. This is reported by "Finanz und Wirtschaft".
Anyone who wants to take out a mortgage at the moment has to dig deeper into their pockets. The benchmark values for real estate loans have risen noticeably across all terms - especially for long-term loans.
The gap between ten-year and two-year mortgage rates has widened to 0.49 percentage points.
This is the result of the latest evaluation of 20 mortgage providers, which is regularly monitored by "Finanz und Wirtschaft".
Particularly noteworthy: the average interest rate for a ten-year mortgage rose by 0.27 percentage points to 2.01 percent in the first two weeks of March.
This is the first time it has been above the 2 percent mark since last year. Five-year mortgages have also become significantly more expensive - from 1.53 to 1.77 percent.
Nine providers now charge more than 2 percent for a ten-year mortgage. Generali remains the cheapest with a stable 1.7 percent, while Raiffeisen has the most expensive offer at 2.27 percent. For shorter terms, BVK offers the best conditions at 1.42 percent (three years) and 1.52 percent (five years).
For two-year loans, Swissquote is the cheapest at 1.25 percent, while Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) has the most expensive offer at 1.71 percent.
But why are mortgage rates rising so quickly? One of the main reasons lies in developments on the European bond markets. Switzerland is following Germany's interest rate policy in particular.
There, the CDU/CSU, SPD and the Greens have heralded a fiscal turnaround, which has resulted in higher government spending and thus rising yields. As swap rates - an important refinancing factor for banks - are also moving upwards in lockstep, mortgages in Switzerland are automatically becoming more expensive.
For property buyers, this means that those who opt for a long-term mortgage will have to dig deeper into their pockets. At the same time, shorter terms are becoming more attractive again - a trend that could intensify in the coming months.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.
