T&H price index: transport and housing costs
The Comparis T&H price index measures price changes in the areas of transport and housing. The 20-year comparison shows that prices for goods and services have risen by 19%.
iStock/Michael Derrer Fuchs
1. How have transport and housing prices changed?
The T&H price index for August 2025 shows that transport and housing prices in Switzerland have fallen by 0.1% compared to the same month last year. For comparison, the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased by 0.2%.
The largest increases in prices compared to the previous year
Prices of motor vehicle insurance have risen particularly sharply: they are 6.1% more expensive than in August 2024.
The prices of apartment rents rose by 1.9% year-on-year.
Bicycles and electric bikes cost 3.7% more than they did 12 months ago.
The largest decreases in price compared to the previous year
Prices of electricity have fallen by 8.7% within 12 months.
Fuel prices have also become cheaper – declining by 8.0%.
Energy prices for heating (gas, oil, firewood and district heating) have fallen by 5.4%.
The T&H price index measures inflation especially in the areas of transport and housing – including the costs of a car, public transport, rent and electricity.
Why does the T&H price index matter?
For an average family in Switzerland, transport and housing costs make up around 40% of their daily budget.
The problem is that the costs for an apartment, public transport or a car are sluggish consumption expenses. These costs tend to be fixed and cannot be easily influenced by your consumption habits. Any price increases in rent or transport can therefore hit your budget particularly hard.
Other statistics fail to take into account the importance of these expenses. The T&H index provides transparency and sheds light on these figures in detail.
How is the T&H price index created?
It’s calculated in collaboration with the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. The index complements the Comparis consumer price index and the Comparis leisure price index.
2. T&H: where the index currently stands
The costs of transport and housing rose by 19% between August 2005 and August 2025. The National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased by 11.1% over the same period.
At 31.9%, residential rents have risen at an above-average rate in the last 20 years. This corresponds to an average increase of 1.4% per year.
It is particularly noteworthy that the mortgage reference rate has fallen from 3.5% in 2008 to 1.25% over the same period.
A remarkable number of vacant apartments
It is striking that the proportion of vacant apartments (vacancy rate) has also developed differently, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In 2013, it was still below 1% throughout Switzerland. By 2020, it had increased to 1.72%. Since 2021, it has fallen continuously to its current level of 1%.
At cantonal level, the vacancy rate in Geneva is the lowest at 0.32%, closely followed by Zug and Zurich at 0.42% and 0.48% respectively. The vacancy rate is highest in Jura, at 3.03%.
Dirk Renkert, Comparis finance expert, explains:
The vacancy rate is a measure of how tight the Swiss housing market is. The lower the value, the fewer vacant apartments are available. The sharp reduction to 1% explains the considerable rise in rental prices in recent years. In addition, there were rising prices for building materials due to supply bottlenecks after the coronavirus pandemic as well as higher mortgage rates, which were passed on to tenants. Although mortgage rates have fallen again in the meantime, the current tense situation on the rental market has changed little.
3. Who is most affected by inflation?
Not all Swiss households are equally affected by inflation. Consumption behaviour differs, among other things, depending on age, income and region.
T&H price index by income
The lowest income bracket feels inflation the most, with an increase of 0.1% compared to the previous year. Compared to May 2025, inflation is unchanged.
The highest income bracket was hardly affected by inflation. Prices for people in this bracket have even fallen by 0.2% compared to the previous year. In the last three months, consumption for the middle to high income bracket has become 0.2% cheaper.
T&H price index by age and living situation
At 0.2%, single-person households under the age of 65 experienced the highest inflation compared to the previous year. However, life became cheaper for them in August 2025 compared to May 2025, with a decline of 0.1%.
Couples over the age of 65 without children felt the lowest inflation. Compared to the previous year, the perceived inflation for them has even decreased by 0.5%. In a three-month comparison, the inflation rate for them decreased by 0.2% in August 2025.
T&H price index by region
At minus 0.1%, French-speaking Switzerland recorded a slightly lower inflation rate compared to the previous year. Compared to May 2025, the price level fell by 0.2%.
At 0.3%, Italian-speaking Switzerland had comparatively the lowest inflation. Compared to three months ago, prices in the areas of transport and housing fell by 0.2% for the residents of this region.
This article was first published on 27.03.2024
