Rent or buy your home?
Buying an apartment or a house needs a lot of money at the start, but the monthly costs are often lower than a rent. This tool compares the total cost of both over time, and shows the moment when buying breaks even.
Total cost over time
Each point is what it would have cost you if you stopped at that moment. For buying, this is everything you paid minus what is left after selling the home and repaying the mortgage.
Show the numbers per year
| After | Buy (net) | Rent | Difference | Home value | Mortgage |
|---|
Monthly payments at the start
What leaves your account in the first month. The repayment is not a cost: it lowers the mortgage, and you get it back when you sell.
| CHF per month | Buy | Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | ||
| Mortgage repayment | ||
| Upkeep | ||
| Rent | ||
| Total |
Will the bank lend you the money?
Swiss banks check that the home stays affordable if interest rates go up. They count 5% interest on the mortgage, 1% of the price for upkeep, and the repayment. Together this must be at most one third of your gross income.
| Own funds | |
| Mortgage | |
| Of which to repay within 15 years | |
| Yearly cost in the bank test | |
| Gross household income needed |
Where the money goes
Totals over the compared period. When the home gains value, the gain lowers the cost of buying.
| CHF | Buy | Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | ||
| Upkeep | ||
| Purchase costs | ||
| Selling costs at the end | ||
| Home value change (a gain is negative) | ||
| Rent | ||
| Lost investment return | ||
| Total |
How it works
- Money is not free: every franc you pay, your own funds included, could have earned the investment return instead. This is counted for both options.
- Buying: you pay your own funds and the purchase costs at the start, then the mortgage interest, the repayments and the upkeep. At the end you sell the home, pay the selling costs and repay what is left of the mortgage.
- The mortgage interest stays the same over the whole period. In real life it changes when you renew the mortgage, so also try a higher rate.
- Rent and home value change once a year by the rates you choose. Payments happen at the start of each month.
- Utility charges (heating, water, electricity), household insurance and moving costs are about the same in both cases, so they are left out.
- Income and wealth taxes are not included. Until the end of 2028, owners pay income tax on an imputed rental value and can deduct mortgage interest and upkeep. From 1 January 2029 this system ends: no tax on the imputed rental value, and no more deductions for your own home (first-time buyers keep a limited interest deduction for 10 years).
Questions and answers
How much equity do you need to buy a home in Switzerland?
At least 20% of the price. At least half of it, 10% of the price, must be your own money such as savings, pillar 3a or gifts; the rest can come from your pension fund. The bank lends up to 80%, and the part above two thirds of the price must be paid back within 15 years.
How do banks check if you can afford a home?
They use an imputed interest rate of 5%, plus 1% of the price for upkeep and the yearly payback of the second mortgage. Together these costs must not be more than one third of your gross income.
What changes when the imputed rental value ends?
Until the end of 2028, owners pay income tax on an imputed rental value and can deduct mortgage interest and upkeep. From 1 January 2029 the imputed rental value is abolished, and so are these deductions for your own home. First-time buyers keep a limited interest deduction for 10 years.