Generation Z is increasingly less keen on owning a house
Young people and seniors are increasingly turning away from the dream of a detached house.
Detached homes are becoming less and less of a dream for Generation Z. Only 46% of young adults aged 25-30 now aspire to own a villa one day, compared to 58% last year. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by MoneyPark and Helvetia on the ideal home for the Swiss in 2025.
On the other hand, apartment living is increasingly attracting interest among young people. According to the survey, 34% of them are looking to move into this type of housing, compared to 20% a year earlier. "This is probably linked to a greater need among Generation Z to live in an urban environment. Or, apartments are a compromise solution, as it is increasingly difficult to find an affordable single-family home," the authors of the study analyze.
But this phenomenon doesn't just affect young people: only 41% of 61-65 year-olds now want a villa, compared to 47%. They too are increasingly preferring apartments in apartment buildings. Only 31-59 year-olds still represent the majority of those who want to live in a detached house.
For the first time since 2020, tenants are once again keen to buy their homes. Their number has increased from 24% to 28%. This trend is fueled by the key interest rate cuts decided by the SNB, which have brought rates down by more than a percentage point, the study analyzes. Owners' sales intentions, however, have declined (from 21% to 19%). It is worth noting that 72% of respondents, both tenants and owners, expect property prices to continue rising.
Furthermore, the main factors considered when choosing a new home remain its price (61%), exterior features (50%), and brightness (43%). Next come its surface area (37%), layout (36%), and sunlight (33%). Electric car charging stations (6%) and luxury amenities (3%) are of little interest. Ecological factors (14%) have slightly lost priority.
Finally, as in 2024, 44% of Swiss people prefer to live in the countryside, while 40% actually do, the study notes. This desire is increasing in French-speaking Switzerland. In 2023, 39% expressed this desire, 44% in 2024, and even 47% currently. "It seems that they simply no longer want to live in urban areas, because with 25% of favorable opinions, city life is also more popular with French-speaking people than with German-speaking people (22%)," the survey concludes.
Some 90% of tenants in Vaud report being generally satisfied, or even very satisfied, with their housing conditions, according to a survey by the Vaudois Real Estate Chamber (CVI) and the Swiss Union of Real Estate Professionals Vaud (USPI Vaud) published Wednesday. On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), 32% of tenants gave their housing conditions a score of 9 or 10. Only 12% gave scores between 1 and 5. "These data, which demonstrate generally harmonious relations between tenants and landlords, contradict certain prejudices widely disseminated by certain lobbies," comment the CVI and USPI. They also note that 83% of tenants have never had their lease terminated and that 67% consider their rent to be fair.
In a press release, Asloca believes that this "apparent satisfaction should not mask the imbalances in the rental market," because "it is perfectly possible to love your home while suffering from an unbalanced market." It points to its own study with the same polling institute in 2021, which revealed the difficulty tenants have in finding housing or requesting rent reductions.
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