Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
It’s just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Le Locle in the Neuchâtel Jura to Kilchberg on Lake Zurich. But when it comes to property prices, the two towns are worlds apart. SWI swissinfo.ch takes a closer look at the opposite ends of Switzerland’s property ladder.
The black Mercedes pulls up in front of the construction site. Claudio Baumann steps out and greets us with a smile. He has a smart suit and sharp eyes. “We’re managing the entire sales project here,” he explains.
The future apartment block is perched on a slope, only a few minutes’ walk from Kilchberg station. Once completed, the upper floors will offer an unobstructed view of Lake Zurich. A vista that costs millions and attracts millionaires. The middle-floor flats have all been snapped up already.
An apartment on the ground floor is still up for grabs, however, despite its built-in private spa designed to make up for the lack of lake view. But the foundations have only just been laid.
The top floor is also still waiting for a buyer. The future owner will have to dish out a little more than CHF8 million ($9.75 million), not an unusual price tag here. After all, Kilchberg is the most expensive municipality in Switzerland.
People move here from all over the world, particularly from the European Union and the United States. Baumann was quick to notice this trend and has started to advertise selected properties on the websites of the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal – a move that earned him a name on the shores of Lake Zurich.
Haggling attempted
Let’s switch scenes to Le Locle, where a black Audi is parked in front of a converted industrial building. Inside the apartment, Sadry Ben Brahim is waiting for us. He has a discreet appearance and greets us in perfect German, despite coming from the French-speaking part of the country.
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Ben Brahim is trying to sell this 202-square-metre apartment with six-and-a-half sun-drenched rooms, a spacious terrace and three parking spots for just CHF625,000. It’s been on the market for five months.
“Hardly any property here sells at the listed price,” he says. “People ask if the price is negotiable even before they set foot inside.”
Ben Brahim He sells properties across the Neuchâtel region on behalf of Compagnie Immobilière Romande Sàrl, a real estate firm owned by a close friend. Alongside his role in real estate, he also works as an insurance broker.
Le Locle is his hotspot for bargains. Prices here hover between CHF3,500 and CHF5,000 per square metre. Sure, you might find cheaper places tucked away in the remote valleys of the Jura or Ticino, but with so few properties changing hands there, it’s hard to measure exactly how much cheaper they really are.
Among all well-connected municipalities with regular property sales, Le Locle stands out as Switzerland’s most affordable.
“Some people only move here because of the low prices and their budget won’t stretch to nearby Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds,” Ben Brahim says. He often sees deals fall through over relatively small amounts. “Banks sometimes say that it is CHF50,000 too much and refuse to finance the deal. That’s always tough, and sometimes there are tears.”
International schools nearby
Back in Kilchberg, Ingila Baumann has joined us. Married to Claudio, they co-own Baumann Real Estate, a company that has grown from a 14-square-metre office to a thriving real estate firm with three employees.
Ingila Baumann is in charge of viewing the second property, a spacious ground-floor flat with five-and-a-half rooms on the outskirts of Kilchberg. It boasts classic Swiss features such as wooden floors, fitted cupboards and a kitchen topped with sleek natural stone slabs. The flat also offers a surprisingly big garden and a glimpse of the lake from one corner, all for around CHF4.8 million.
We later find out that it is due to be sold to a Swiss family. For now, most of the couple’s clients are Swiss, but 30% of potential buyers live abroad, says Claudio Baumann. “When they arrive, they usually have a job lined up, a residential B permit and solid finances. So they are ready to buy quickly,” he explains, adding that others move to Switzerland for tax reasons.
The selling process begins early. “Sometimes, we’re in touch with buyers for two years before a sale finally goes through,” Baumann says. Americans, he adds, usually look for large apartments, ideally with an extra room for the nanny. Schools are another key factor. “Having international schools in the area is a big bonus.”
The other big bonus is the location. Until a few years ago, the western shore of Lake Zurich – home to Kilchberg – was considered the lake’s more affordable side thanks to its lack of evening sun. From their sun-drenched villas in Herrliberg and Küsnacht, the wealthy residents of the eastern shore would cast pitying glances across the water. Locals even dubbed it the Pfnüselküste (sniffle coast) – a nod to the cold, damp image it once had.
But the tables have turned. The price per square metre in Kilchberg can now reach up to CHF35,000. In just over 20 minutes trains take you not only to Zurich’s banking hub and the airport, but also to Zug, home to major commodity giants and Switzerland’s Crypto Valley. And if you want to go to Ticino in the south or Graubünden in the east, living in Kilchberg saves you the hassle of driving around the lake.
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Decades of inertia
It’s all about location, and Le Locle tells the other side of the story. Sitting right on the French border, it suffers from chronic traffic congestion with a steady stream of cars and lorries clogging its streets.
“Traffic is Le Locle’s biggest problem,” says Ben Brahim as the roar of engines drifts through the open window.
The other major challenge is the local economy. Like neighbouring La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle depends heavily on the watchmaking industry, and there is little else to fall back on.
Since its heyday in the 1960s with nearly 15,000 residents, Le Locle’s population has been shrinking. Today, it stands at about 10,500 people, roughly 1,000 more than Kilchberg.
Like La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle is considered the cradle of Swiss watchmaking and enjoys UNESCO World Heritage status. But beneath this prestige, the small town centre shows signs of decay. Buildings are crumbling, taxes are high, and health insurance premiums continue to rise. When asked what the town needed most, the press office of the city’s government replied: “A better image.”
Importance of discretion
But Kilchberg has its own problems, which are mainly structural and similar to those faced by many other municipalities on Lake Zurich. Average earners cannot afford these properties, and many young people are priced out of the area.
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The mayor, a lawyer by profession, declined to answer our list of questions, saying she had no interest in contributing to our “sensationalist story”.
Discretion is a virtue in Kilchberg. “For us it’s everything,” says Claudio Baumann. Sometimes buyers don’t even show up for the official signing of the ownership papers because they want to keep a low profile, he says. “Most are extremely wealthy, some even well-known. But there are also long-time residents quietly buying properties for their children or grandchildren.”
Boost of property value
In Le Locle, Ben Brahim notes how an increasing number of investors from outside are entering the property market. The reason is a four-kilometre, two-lane tunnelExternal link being built north of town which will divert transit traffic from around 2032. With the federal government pouring nearly CHF500 million into the project, it holds huge potential to revitalise the area and boost property value.
The local government is also betting on a new era for Le Locle, one with rising property prices. Its legislative agenda includes a plan to upgrade the town centre. Le Locle is to be reinvented as a residential area and a sub-centre and tourism is to be boosted.
There is a new sense of confidence in the Neuchâtel Jura. The population has just approved funding for the renovation of the town’s outdoor pool which has barely been touched since it was built in 1962.
Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Adapted from German by Billi Bierling/ts
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