Mortgage for a holiday home in Switzerland: the complete guide

The dream of your own holiday home in the mountains or by the lake rarely fails on the interest rate – but on the equity, on a valuation that comes in too low, or on the wrong provider. Because for second homes, the rules in Switzerland are considerably stricter than for a primary residence.

This guide takes you step by step through financing a holiday property – from equity through valuation to the loan commitment. It is no substitute for advice, but it provides a solid foundation (as of April 2026).

Key points at a glance

• Lower loan-to-value: holiday properties are usually lent on only up to 60 percent (sometimes 50–70%) – so you need 30–40 percent equity, sometimes up to 50%.
• No pension money: for second homes you may neither draw nor pledge occupational pension (2nd pillar) or pillar 3a – the equity must be “hard”.
• Cumulative affordability: the housing costs of primary and second home are added together – jointly they should not exceed roughly one third of gross income.
• The valuation is the bottleneck: banks usually value hedonically; for mountain and lake properties this often deviates from the purchase price, and the lower-of principle increases your equity requirement.
• Comparison pays off twice: providers differ on rate and valuation – and many do not finance second homes at all.

Step 1: clarify equity and affordability realistically

Before you look for a property, clarify your scope. Lenders classify holiday properties as riskier: in difficult times the holiday home tends to be sold first, and prices in tourist locations fluctuate more strongly. In addition, the Second Homes Act (in force since 1 January 2016) restricts supply – it caps the share of second homes per municipality at 20 percent, which makes existing properties more expensive (source: Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE).

How much equity exactly?

For a primary residence: maximum 80 percent loan-to-value, i.e. at least 20 percent equity – of which 10 percentage points may come from the pension fund. For a holiday property, most institutions lend only up to around 60 percent. So you provide 40 percent yourself – entirely from “hard” equity:

Funds	Primary residence	Holiday property
Savings / free securities	✓	✓
Pillar 3a	✓	✗
Pension fund (withdrawal/pledge)	✓ (up to 10 pp)	✗
Advance inheritance / gift	✓	✓
Surrender value of free life insurance (3b)	✓	✓

The reason for the pension ban: tax-privileged retirement capital should serve essential housing needs – not a second home (source: Houzy). For the holiday property you therefore need freely available liquidity.

Affordability: the second, often underestimated hurdle

Even those with the equity must be able to carry the running costs. Banks calculate with imputed values, not with today’s low rate: around 4.5–5.0 percent imputed interest, around 1.0 percent maintenance per year, plus amortisation of the portion above 60 percent within 15 years. Crucially: if you already own a primary residence, its housing costs are added to the costs of the holiday property. This cumulative burden should not exceed roughly one third of gross income.

Worked example – holiday flat for CHF 1,000,000:

• Equity 40% = CHF 400,000 (hard funds)
• Mortgage 60% = CHF 600,000 (no amortisation, as not above 60%)
• Imputed interest 5% on 600,000 = CHF 30,000/year
• Maintenance 1% on 1,000,000 = CHF 10,000/year
• Existing rent for primary residence = CHF 36,000/year

Imputed total burden: CHF 76,000/year → required gross income about CHF 230,000 (76,000 ÷ 0.33). This shows how elitist market access is: high equity and a high income must come together.

Step 2: understand the property valuation

Over 90 percent of Swiss institutions value the market value hedonically: an algorithm (for example from IAZI or Wüest Partner) compares property features such as area, year of construction, location and fit-out with a large database of real transactions.

• Strength: fast, cheap and precise for standard properties in liquid markets.
• Weakness for holiday properties: for unique chalets, lakefront or panoramic locations, comparison data is missing. In peripheral or luxury locations the valuation can deviate markedly – sometimes by up to 20 percent – from the actual market value (source: neho; Raiffeisen).

If the hedonic valuation deviates strongly, an expert / real-value appraisal helps (land value plus rebuild cost minus depreciation for age). It is more accurate for one-of-a-kind properties, but more expensive and slower – banks require it only for complex objects.

Step 3: factor in the lower-of principle

Since 2014 the rule is: the bank lends on the lower value of purchase price and appraisal. An example:

• Purchase price of chalet: CHF 1,500,000
• Bank valuation (hedonic): CHF 1,200,000 → decisive
• Loan-to-value 65% of 1,200,000 = CHF 780,000 mortgage
• Equity: 1,500,000 − 780,000 = CHF 720,000 (effectively 48% of the purchase price)

This is exactly where the provider decides: whoever values your property more realistically noticeably lowers your equity requirement. That often makes the comparison more important than a few basis points on the rate – more on this shortly.

Step 4: put together the dossier

A complete dossier speeds up the commitment. Usually required:

• Income: salary statements (usually 3 years), current tax return, debt-collection register extract
• Property: land register extract, cadastral plan, building description, sales documentation, photos
• Primary residence: rental contract or existing mortgage agreements (for cumulative affordability)
• Equity: proof of accounts, securities, advance inheritance or gift

A digital platform standardises these documents and submits them in parallel to several providers – instead of to each bank individually.

Step 5: compare providers and obtain a commitment

Instead of asking a single branch, you obtain offers from several institutions and compare them – by rate, term, valuation and flexibility. Providers that exclude second homes drop out early. A weeks-long search thus becomes a transparent market overview – the hypox approach.

Why the comparison pays off twice here

For a standard owner-occupied home, providers largely agree. For a holiday property, however, rate, loan-to-value and valuation diverge strongly – the systematic comparison pays off twice over.

Lever 1 – the rate. If your house bank offers a ten-year fixed-rate mortgage including a risk surcharge at 1.90 percent and another institution at 1.40 percent, that is 0.5 percentage points = CHF 4,000 per year = CHF 40,000 over ten years on CHF 800,000. The figures are illustrative; the order of magnitude is not.

Lever 2 – the valuation. If provider A values your chalet at CHF 1,200,000 and provider B (with a real-value approach) at CHF 1,350,000, that changes your loan by around CHF 100,000 at 65 percent loan-to-value – i.e. CHF 100,000 less tied-up equity, available to you elsewhere.

On top of that: many pension funds and insurers do not finance second homes at all. The holiday-property market is an information market with asymmetry – banks know their scope, buyers rarely do. A platform-based comparison places your dossier with many providers at the same time, filters out the unsuitable ones and presents rate and valuation transparently side by side. That way you find not just the lower rate, but the providers who will carry your property at all. Why hypox stays neutral is explained under how we earn money.

Frequently asked questions

Can I really not use any pension money for a holiday home?

No. For second homes, withdrawal and pledging from the 2nd pillar and pillar 3a are legally excluded – even if you have the money. The equity must come from “hard” sources.

Why does the bank value my chalet lower than the purchase price?

Because hedonic models have too little comparison data for unique mountain and lake properties. A real-value appraisal can help, but is more involved – and not every provider accepts it.

How much equity do I need at least?

As a rule of thumb, 30–40 percent of the lower of purchase price and bank valuation – in restrictive cases up to 50 percent, all from hard funds.

Fixed or SARON mortgage for the holiday flat?

Because holiday properties are sold more often, the prepayment penalty of a fixed-rate mortgage weighs more heavily – which often argues for the flexibility of SARON. Details in the article Fixed or SARON mortgage.

Conclusion

Financing a holiday property is plannable if you know the sequence: clarify equity and affordability, understand the valuation, factor in the lower-of principle, complete the dossier, compare providers. The biggest lever lies in valuation and provider choice – both addressed by a neutral provider comparison.

Sources

• Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE – Second homes / Second Homes Act
• Houzy – Equity for a holiday flat or holiday home
• neho.ch – Hedonic property valuation
• Raiffeisen – Property valuation; Lending value
• VZ VermögensZentrum – Affordability
• LEND.ch – Buying and financing a holiday property; ImmoZins – Second home: requirements, restrictions, taxes

Note: time-dependent figures and worked examples reflect the status as of April 2026 and serve for orientation, not advice. Only the conditions of the respective providers are binding.