The price of apartments increased by 4,9 % across Switzerland last year, with an increase of 10,8 % in the Zurich area, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported.
Despite the price hikes, a rise in construction of new-build apartments and single family homes combined with the record-low interest rates have enabled more people than ever before to get on the Swiss property ladder.
"Among the requests for mortgages are more and more applications that clearly operate at the limits of financial sustainability and debt levels," Stefan Rüesch, bank expert for comparis.ch told the newspaper.
One measure being proposed to reduce the risk of mortgage default is to require the banks to insist on a higher proportion of upfront capital investment. At the moment, the average amount of capital required for a residential mortgage is about 20 %. It is unclear how far this percentage would rise. The banks however are not keen on increasing the capital requirements.
Source: http://www.thelocal.ch/3119/20120418/