BFS Real Estate Price Index Q1 2026: Home Ownership 4.7 Percent More Expensive

The residential property price index IMPI of the Federal Statistical Office reached a level of 126.8 points in the first quarter of 2026, based on the reference value Q4 2019 equals 100. The increase compared to the last quarter of 2025 is 1.5 percent, and year-on-year, home ownership became 4.7 percent more expensive. These official figures are thus somewhat above the most recent estimates from private providers, who reported values of 3.5 to 4.0 percent for the same period.

Condominiums Becoming More Expensive

The two main segments developed differently. Condominiums rose by 1.8 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 4.8 percent year-on-year. Single-family homes showed a somewhat more restrained but still clear upward movement, with plus 1.1 percent versus Q4 2025 and plus 4.6 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

This divergence has been apparent for several years. Condominiums benefit from strong demand in urban locations and a broader demographic of buyers, ranging from young first-time buyers to retirees with strong demand. Single-family homes are scarcer on the supply side, but price pressure is concentrated in a few highly sought-after locations.

Cities Pull Ahead Particularly Strongly

Regionally, the index shows a clear pattern. In urban municipalities of large agglomerations, prices rose by 3.1 percent in the quarter, twice as much as the national average. By contrast, prices remained stable in urban municipalities of smaller agglomerations as well as outside agglomerations. So the movement is not a nationwide phenomenon but is concentrated in the economic centers.

This matches observations from the brokerage market, where buyers in Zurich, Zug, Geneva, and Lausanne continue to be faced with a tight supply and multiple competing bidders, while rural regions offer slower turnover and more room for negotiation.

Methodological Classification

The IMPI is based on around 7000 transactions per quarter, supplied by the 28 largest Swiss mortgage institutions. This means the index covers the vast majority of the market, as most property purchases are financed with a mortgage. This broad and high-quality data base makes the IMPI the official reference, to which the Swiss National Bank and FINMA also refer.

Private providers such as Wüest Partner, IAZI or ZKB also publish regular indices, but base them on other methods. For example, Wüest Partner weights hedonic models differently, IAZI takes into account transaction prices with additional quality adjustments. These methodological differences explain why the individual indices can differ by up to one percentage point per quarter.

Significance for Mortgage Holders

For owners and buyers, the IMPI has direct consequences. Banks use the official indices as reference sizes in the annual review of mortgage values. If the value of a property rises, the loan-to-value ratio falls mathematically. This can open up opportunities for more favorable conditions or higher mortgage amounts in refinancing.

Conversely, falling index values would increase the loan-to-value ratio. Currently, there is no sign of that—on the contrary. Banks are continuously adjusting their internal valuation models, which generally has no immediate impact on existing customers. For new business and especially for refinancing at the end of a fixed-rate mortgage, however, the values are recalculated.

Outlook

With an annual increase of 4.7 percent, the current pace is significantly above the inflation rate and above the long-term average. As long as the interest rate environment remains stably low and supply is structurally tight, price increases are likely to continue in the coming quarters, even if the pace may slow down. A trend reversal would require a combination of significantly higher interest rates, weaker economic conditions and an increase in supply. None of these factors is currently in sight.