Immigrants pay exorbitant rents or move into run-down apartments. Newcomers from abroad are clearly disadvantaged in Zurich’s tight housing market, at least at the beginning. It’s a paradox! Even though Zurich is notorious far beyond Switzerland’s borders for its ruthless housing market, immigrants continue pouring into the country’s largest metropolis. Of the nearly 120,000 immigrants who arrived in Switzerland in 2022, one in ten settled in Zurich. This is according to a new analysis by Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) based on data from the Federal Statistical Office. To put it into perspective, roughly one in twenty people in Switzerland lives in Zurich. The high number of immigrants has consequences, even for the immigrants themselves. In Zurich, they are often blamed for driving gentrification and soaring prices. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party has launched an initiative to give locals priority in housing allocation. In reality, however, immigrants are left with whatever scraps ...
