Property market surprise: new-build apartments are cheaper in these Swiss cities
New-build apartments are usually more expensive to buy in Switzerland — but not everywhere. A new analysis of 102 Swiss cities shows that in Chur, Zermatt and Delémont, median asking prices for new-build apartments in 2025 were around 3% to 15% below those for existing apartments.
In brief
New-build apartments are usually more expensive to buy in Switzerland — but not everywhere. A new analysis of 102 Swiss cities shows that in Chur, Zermatt and Delémont, median asking prices for new-build apartments in 2025 were around 3% to 15% below those for existing apartments.
Contents
- The surprise: Chur, Zermatt and Delémont
- How the analysis was produced
- New-build premiums and discounts compared
- How can a new build be cheaper?
- What do the three exceptions mean for buyers?
- Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne: new builds remain more expensive
- Brig, Arlesheim and Kriens: particularly large premiums
- Important: these are purchase prices, not rents
- What does the wider Swiss market say in 2026?
- New build or existing apartment: what buyers should really compare
- Compare apartments for sale on UrbanHome
- Sources and data date
- Frequently asked questions
The surprise: Chur, Zermatt and Delémont
The result runs against the usual expectation: in Chur GR, Zermatt VS and Delémont JU, the median price per square metre for apartments classified as new builds was below the median for existing apartments. Watson summarises the three negative differences as roughly 3% to 15%.[1]
The public text names the three cities and the overall range but does not assign an individual exact percentage to each city in the article text. This guide therefore does not invent false precision.
How the analysis was produced
The analysis uses Lookmove data for 2025 and compares median asking prices per square metre for new-build and existing apartments in 102 Swiss cities. Only cities with sufficient new-build supply were included.[1]
A listing is treated as a new build if it is explicitly described as such, belongs to a property development or was built no more than two years before publication. Off-plan and still-under-construction apartments can also be included. This is not an official government classification.[1]
Lookmove analyses more than 150 Swiss listing sources and de-duplicates the data. Depending on the quality of underlying information, some indicators may carry an error margin of up to 10%.[1][2]
New-build premiums and discounts compared
| City | New build vs existing | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Chur GR | cheaper | one of three cities with a negative new-build premium |
| Zermatt VS | cheaper | one of three cities with a negative new-build premium |
| Delémont JU | cheaper | one of three cities with a negative new-build premium |
| Lausanne VD | +5.7% | moderate new-build premium |
| Geneva GE | +9.1% | new builds cost more, but by less than 10% |
| Zurich ZH | +10.9% | high absolute prices, moderate percentage premium |
| Kriens LU | +55% | very large new-build premium |
| Arlesheim BL | +70% | extreme new-build premium |
| Brig VS | +74% | largest difference stated in the Watson text |
Lookmove 2025 asking-price analysis published by Watson on 10 August 2026. The three negative observations are collectively described as approximately −3% to −15%; the public text does not map each exact negative percentage to a specific city.
How can a new build be cheaper?
A negative new-build premium does not necessarily mean new apartments are “underpriced”. Lookmove points to several composition effects:
- Location: new projects can be built where land is still available, often outside the most expensive micro-locations.
- Existing stock: existing listings may contain a high share of renovated or prime-location apartments.
- Size and quality: these are not identical apartments; floor area, fit-out, views and floor level differ.
- Supply mix: a median depends on which properties happened to be listed in that year.
This is therefore a market comparison of listings, not a controlled “same apartment new versus old” experiment.[1]
What do the three exceptions mean for buyers?
For buyers, Chur, Zermatt and Delémont are mainly a reason not to exclude new builds automatically on budget grounds. In such markets, filtering only for older properties could mean missing competitively priced projects.
A median is not a price guarantee. Micro-location, views, floor area, parking, condominium rules, reserve funds and project quality still matter much more for a specific purchase.
Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne: new builds remain more expensive
The familiar pattern remains in the largest cities. Watson reports new-build premiums of 5.7% in Lausanne, 9.1% in Geneva and 10.9% in Zurich.[1]
The percentage gaps are relatively modest, but absolute prices are high. The analysis puts Zurich's median new-build asking price at almost CHF 20,000 per square metre.[1]
Brig, Arlesheim and Kriens: particularly large premiums
At the other end of the scale, Brig (+74%), Arlesheim (+70%) and Kriens (+55%) show especially large new-build premiums in the published analysis.[1]
This illustrates why there is no useful single Swiss “new-build premium”: the gap is highly local and can be shaped by a small number of projects and the mix of properties offered.
Important: these are purchase prices, not rents
This analysis concerns owner-occupied apartments for sale, not rental apartments. It should not be confused with the rental market. In a separate analysis, Watson compared rents for buildings up to two years old with existing rental stock and found substantial premiums in many locations.[1]
PwC/FPRE data for Q1 2026 also show a different rental-market dynamic: new-lease rents for older apartments rose 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, while new-build rents fell 0.2%; year-on-year the figures were +2.6% and +0.2% respectively.[3]
What does the wider Swiss market say in 2026?
The Swiss housing market remains tight and highly regional in 2026. PwC sees early signs of a recovery in residential construction, while stressing that supply constraints remain in urban centres.[3]
JLL, drawing on federal statistics, also highlights the large differences between new and older housing stock. Purchase and rental markets therefore need to be analysed separately.[4]
New build or existing apartment: what buyers should really compare
Check a new build
- price per m²
- building specification and fit-out
- defect/warranty rules
- condominium regulations
- reserve-fund budget
- parking price
- completion date
Check an existing apartment
- renovation needs
- roof, façade and building services
- reserve fund
- planned refurbishments
- energy use
- layout potential
- micro-location and resale
A fair comparison should include total ownership costs over several years, not just the asking price per square metre.
Compare apartments for sale on UrbanHome
Use the UrbanHome property search for buying to compare apartments and houses for sale. For a meaningful comparison, place new-build and existing properties in the same municipality and, ideally, the same micro-location side by side.
Sources and data date
Data date: 10 August 2026. The city comparison uses Lookmove data on 2025 sale listings and was published by Watson on 10 August 2026. These are median asking prices, not official transaction prices.
Frequently asked questions
Conclusion
The standout result is Chur, Zermatt and Delémont, where new builds were cheaper than existing apartments in the 2025 listing dataset. This is not evidence of a general new-build discount. In almost all other analysed cities, new builds remain more expensive — sometimes modestly, sometimes by more than 50%. Buyers should therefore compare new and existing apartments in the same micro-location rather than filtering by age alone.
Compare new-build and existing apartments
Compare current properties for sale on UrbanHome by region, price, rooms and property type. For new builds, always compare with existing apartments in the same micro-location.
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