Housing finance, prices, and tenure in Switzerland

In contrast to many other countries, Switzerland generally has not seen soaring house prices in the 2000s and house prices have only recently started to diminish slightly. Also, Swiss authorities do not engage in trying to increase the homeownership rate much above its current level. This paper presents the main aspects of housing policy and finance in Switzerland, which can help to explain these idiosyncrasies. House prices and rents are also analyzed. The policies that are discussed in this paper may be useful to housing policy makers in other countries.