Development of surcharge prices 2020—2025: Where are prices really falling?

Introduction

The years 2020 to 2025 mark a phase of significant changes in the Swiss real estate market. Particularly, the development of auction prices at forced sales provides valuable insights into regional trends, market behavior, and price realities beyond the official real estate statistics. While the classical real estate market continues to record high prices in many areas, the analysis of auction data reveals a differentiated dynamic - with regions where prices are stagnating or even declining.

Based on the annual market reports, a clear trend emerges: The total value of auctioned properties has remained largely stable over the years, but the average auction prices per property have developed differently - depending on the region, property type, and demand. As a result, forced sales today offer more opportunities than ever for investors looking to identify undervalued properties.

Overall Development 2020-2025

Switzerland has recorded a slight decline in the number of forced sales over the past five years, accompanied by rising market values in the upper segments. While 2021 marked a peak with 854 procedures, the numbers fell to around 610 properties by 2024. At the same time, the auction volume increased from 560 million CHF (2023) to around 670 million CHF (2024) - an indicator of the growing importance of higher-priced properties in the market.

The average auction price strongly depends on the property category. Residential houses and condominiums still account for about three-quarters of all auctions. In this segment, values have stabilized, while luxury properties such as villas and multi-family homes have recorded significant price declines in some cases.

Price Declines in Prime Properties

The development in the upper price segment is particularly striking. In 2021, villas were valued at an average of 2.48 million CHF, in 2022 the average was already 3.85 million CHF, and in 2023 this figure reached a peak of 5.1 million CHF. In 2024, the average market value of these properties fell back to 3.92 million CHF - a decline of over 20%.

A similar picture emerges for multi-family houses: After peak values of over 8.9 million CHF in 2022, the average stabilized at around 1.6 million CHF. Here, a market adjustment to rising financing costs and declining demand from institutional investors seems to be emerging.

Regional Differences in Auction Prices

Price development varies significantly by canton. In the cantons of Ticino (TI), Vaud (VD), and Valais (VS), the highest auction prices per capita continue to be observed from 2020 to 2025, while in Bern (BE), Solothurn (SO), and Aargau (AG), especially in the middle price segment, stable, slightly rising values can be observed.

In contrast, the decline in several cantons of Central Switzerland and Eastern Switzerland is striking. In Zurich (ZH), Zug (ZG), and Lucerne (LU), auction prices are stagnating, while in St. Gallen (SG), Schaffhausen (SH), and Thurgau (TG), a slight decline of 3-7% over a five-year comparison is recorded.

Cantons with Declining Prices

Canton	Average Decline 2020-2025	Particularities
Zurich (ZH)	−5 %	Declining offers for condominiums, stable demand for single-family homes
St. Gallen (SG)	−6 %	Multi-family houses show significantly lower bids
Thurgau (TG)	−4 %	Stagnation in rural areas, fewer institutional buyers
Lucerne (LU)	−7 %	Cool-off of premium residential houses in peripheral areas
Valais (VS)	−3 %	Tourist regions with price corrections due to rising interest rates

Property Types in Comparison

The average auction prices by property category show a clear differentiation between the residential and commercial segments:

• Condos: stable at around 700,000-800,000 CHF; declines mainly in urban locations due to higher financing costs.
• Single-family homes: slight increase from 903,000 CHF (2022) to around 1.0 million CHF (2024); high demand from private buyers.
• Multi-family houses: strong price fluctuations; from 8.9 million CHF (2022) to around 1.6 million CHF (2024).
• Villas: price correction from 5.1 million CHF (2023) to 3.9 million CHF (2024); fewer bidders.

Particularly for investors with a long-term perspective, residential properties in stable regions remain the most attractive category. Through precise market analyses, investors can recognize real market values in forced sales before they are reflected in the broader statistics.

Economic Background

The price dynamics in forced sales are closely related to interest rate developments and credit availability. After a phase of extremely low interest rates until 2022, the more restrictive monetary policy of the SNB led to a significant increase in mortgage costs. This dampened the demand for high-priced properties and lowered the auction prices in sensitive regions.

At the same time, the number of strategic bidders who purposefully use auctions to acquire undervalued properties has increased. This professionalization of the buyer market ensures stable minimum prices, particularly in regions with limited supply.

"Those who understand the market do not buy at forced auctions today because they have to - but because they can."

Outlook: Stabilization with Opportunities

For 2025, a broad stabilization of auction prices is to be expected. While the number of procedures remains constant, demand is increasingly shifting towards the middle and lower price segments. Buyers with solid financing thus gain access to locations and properties that were unaffordable in previous years.

Platforms such as LocalAuction.ch significantly contribute to market transparency. By centrally recording all official auctions in Switzerland, investors can recognize trends early, compare regions, and specifically identify opportunities - from Ticino to Zurich.

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