Swiss hypo-market: sharp decline in interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages

Swiss mortgage rates have been falling since mid-October. This is good news for anyone needing to renew their mortgage or considering buying a home.

Comparative Moneyland and Comparis valuations show that ten-year mortgages are again as favorable as the previous year. Fixed rate mortgages with shorter maturities have even reached new lows.

According to Moneyland, the benchmark interest rate for ten-year fixed rate mortgages rose from 1.7% to 1.45% in the space of three months. For Comparis, fourth quarter interest rates are 1.46% and 1.62% for the third quarter.

Comparis: "Customers with an excellent credit rating can make a 10-year fixed rate mortgage loan at 0.99%." This value was last achieved two years ago.

For fixed five-year mortgages, Moneyland calculated a 1.19% reduction in mid-October, currently 1.04%. For the non-comparative period, Comparis reached 1.13% in the third quarter, up 1.04% in the fourth quarter.

Five-year fixed rate mortgages thus reached the lowest value from 2017, according to the two comparison services. "Never before has it been so cheap to take out short-term mortgages," says Benjamin Manz, director of Moneyland. "For the most expensive providers, five-year mortgages still cost 1.2%, the cheapest only 0.69% per year."

According to Moneyland, online mortgages are generally cheaper than traditional offline providers. For longer periods, Moneyland offers the cheapest offers from insurers.

Comparis has a growing demand for short maturities in terms of mortgage maturity. The proportion of mortgages from one to three years has increased significantly from 3.6% to 4.8%. However, with about 78% of long-term fixed rate mortgages, the most popular remained.

In terms of future interest rates, both reference services provide attractive rates. Despite political and economic adversity, interest rates have probably bottomed out, writes Comparis.

Moneyland sees a slight increase in interest rates. However, it can not be ruled out that new historic lows will also be reached for Swiss fixed-income bonds with longer maturities in 2019, the statement said. (Uro / SDA)