Swiss Construction Sector Shows Strong Early Rebound in 2026

Europe’s construction sector has spent several years in retreat. Rising interest rates, volatile material prices and a collapse in housing permits pushed large parts of the industry into contraction. Switzerland followed some of these trends but never to the same depth. Recent figures from December 2026 indicate that the Swiss construction cycle is turning upward earlier than in neighbouring countries. The improvement is visible in the housing pipeline, in infrastructure projects and in the order books of major suppliers. While Europe is only beginning to stabilise, Switzerland enters 2026 with a construction landscape that is not only firmer but also anchored in structural demand rather than short-term impulses.

Housing Construction Strengthens Ahead of Expectations

The latest data from the Schweizerischer Baumeisterverband (SBV) provide the clearest signal. The association’s Bauindex, which reflects seasonally adjusted construction revenues and expectations for the coming quarters, rose above 100 points in late 2025 for the first time in two years. According to the SBV, sector revenues reached CHF 6.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 4.8 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. The housing segment expanded even more quickly. Revenues in multi-family and apartment housing grew more than 9 percent to CHF 3.4 billion.

The SBV estimates that around 44’000 new housing units will be completed by the end of 2025. These completions are supported by strong order books. Contracts already signed are expected to sustain activity through the first half of 2026. The SBV cautions that the slowdown in building applications could dampen momentum later in the year, but for now residential construction shows a clear recovery.
Costs have played a decisive role. The Federal Statistical Office reports that the national building-price index increased by only 0.6 percent between October 2024 and April 2025. After the sharp cost inflation of previous years, this stabilisation has given developers greater planning certainty and has allowed previously postponed projects to move forward.

Where Switzerland Is Building: A Strong Urban Pull

The upturn is concentrated in regions where demand pressures are highest. Zurich, Central Switzerland and the Lake Geneva area recorded the strongest increases in construction activity, supported by population growth and extremely low vacancy rates. In Zurich and Geneva, the vacancy rate is well below one percent. Zug and Lausanne show similar conditions. These numbers are consistent with a housing shortage that has persisted for years.

Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft show a different pattern. Renovation and energy-upgrade work dominate, supported by cantonal climate programmes and an ageing housing stock. Ticino and parts of Eastern Switzerland display more moderate trends, reflecting slower population growth and more elastic supply.
The regional differences confirm that the current recovery is grounded in the areas where demand is structurally strongest. It is not an artificially broad rebound but a targeted response to conditions that have been building for years.

What Switzerland Is Building: Multi Family, Apartment Housing and Renovations

The composition of new construction projects also explains the resilience of the sector. According to the Federal Statistical Office (BFS), roughly 82 percent of planned residential units in 2024 and 2025 fall into the category of multi-family and apartment housing. The share of single-family homes continues to decline, constrained by zoning rules, limited land availability and high land prices. This shift reflects long-term urbanisation trends and the need to create more efficient housing density in growing metropolitan areas.

Renovation activity has become a second pillar of construction demand. The BFS notes that the value of renovations increased by 7.4 percent in 2024. Large suppliers confirm the trend. More than 60 percent of Geberit’s revenue growth in Germany and Switzerland in 2025 stemmed from renovation work. Upgrades to heating, ventilation and insulation systems are driven by a combination of regulatory incentives and the need to improve energy efficiency.
These two drivers, multi-family and apartment housing on the one hand and renovation on the other illustrate why the current recovery is not simply cyclical. It is shaped by structural forces that remain present regardless of short-term market conditions.

Europe Stabilises Later and More Slowly

In Europe, the construction cycle has been far weaker. EUROCONSTRUCT, which tracks the sector across nineteen countries, reports that total output fell by 0.5 percent in 2023 and by 1.7 percent in 2024. A modest rise of 0.3 percent is forecast for 2025. A more substantial increase of 2.4 percent is expected for 2026, but this depends on financing conditions and the ability of governments to accelerate building approvals.

Germany shows how fragile the situation remains. After three years of declining housing permits, an increase in approvals in September 2025 was significant but came from the lowest base since 2012. Several Swiss suppliers with strong exposure to Germany therefore report only gradual improvement. The divergence between a still hesitant European market and a more dynamic Swiss landscape underscores Switzerland’s relative strength.

Supply Chain Signals Confirm a Turning Point

Company figures mirror the macro trends. Geberit reported euro-denominated revenue growth of 5.6 percent in Germany for the third quarter of 2025, driven by renovation activity. Zehnder achieved double-digit revenue growth in the first half of the year. Its ventilation business, which now represents two thirds of total revenue, expanded by 24 percent. Arbonia, heavily exposed to the German new-build market, remains more cautious, which aligns with the slower German recovery.

At the other end of the spectrum, firms focused on infrastructure and complex construction report robust demand. Implenia increased its order backlog to CHF 7.8 billion in the first half of 2025, a rise of 10 percent. The group won new contracts in tunnel construction, bridge rehabilitation and specialised real estate such as hospitals and research facilities. Belimo, which focuses on climate-control components for commercial buildings and data centres, grew revenue in local currencies by 20.6 percent in the first half of 2025.
Taken together, these results indicate that the recovery is not isolated to a single segment. It is spreading across the supply chain, although at different speeds depending on exposure to European markets.

Infrastructure as a Stable Anchor

One of the least volatile components of the construction sector is infrastructure. Switzerland is entering a period of elevated investment in transport, energy and digital networks. Federal expenditure in these areas is set to reach roughly CHF 11.9 billion annually between 2025 and 2028. This provides the industry with long-term visibility and supports companies that specialise in large, technically demanding projects.
The expansion of data centres, particularly in the Zurich region, adds another dimension. Several major projects are planned or under construction as demand for computational capacity increases. These developments require specialised building techniques, stable power supply and advanced cooling systems, which further stimulate the construction sector.

Structural Demand Underpins the Outlook

The long-term drivers of Swiss housing demand remain intact. Switzerland gained around 74’000 residents in 2024, largely due to net migration. Household sizes continue to shrink, which increases the number of required units even if population growth were to slow. Land scarcity, restrictive zoning and the complexity of approval processes keep supply constrained.

This structural imbalance explains why the addition of 44’000 new units in 2025 will not eliminate the shortage. It also explains why Switzerland has avoided the pronounced housing-market corrections seen in some European countries. Demand is stable, supply is slow to adjust and vacancy rates remain among the lowest in Europe.

A Sector That Builds on Its Strengths

The signals are consistent across data sources and market segments. The Swiss construction industry is entering 2026 in stronger condition than much of Europe. Housing construction is recovering, renovations are expanding, infrastructure investment is steady and the supply chain is beginning to feel the improvement. The recovery is not driven by speculative forces but by structural demand rooted in demographic trends, urban pressure and long-term policy priorities.

Switzerland continues to build, not because conditions are easy but because the need is real. As Europe waits for a broad rebound, the Swiss construction sector demonstrates that a disciplined, demand-driven market can regain momentum even against a difficult backdrop.