The UBS Luxury Property Focus 2026 puts Cologny at an average of 43’000 CHF/m², the highest price in Switzerland outside mountain regions. Yet the previous edition of the same study placed Cologny at close to 36’000 CHF/m² — while the report otherwise announces a 3% rise for the luxury segment. This discrepancy deserves an explanation before drawing any conclusion about the value of your property.
What the 2026 UBS study shows
UBS Chief Investment Office GWM published its annual study on Swiss luxury property on 06.05.2026. The key figures:
- Across the 31 main Swiss locations analysed, luxury segment prices rose by more than 3% in 2025 — a slowdown compared with the previous year, and a slightly lower increase than the overall owner-occupied housing market.
- Saint-Moritz remains the most expensive location in Switzerland, at around 52’000 CHF/m². Gstaad and Verbier follow, at around 45’000 CHF/m².
- Outside mountain regions, the highest average price is reached in Cologny, at 43’000 CHF/m².
- Among primary residence markets, UBS ranks Cologny (GE) and Küsnacht (ZH) at the top. Küsnacht stands at 37’000 CHF/m².
- For the current year, UBS expects the luxury segment to underperform the overall market.
The figure that deserves scrutiny
The 2025 edition of this same study placed Cologny at close to 36’000 CHF/m². The 2026 edition shows it at 43’000. That is a gap of nearly 20% in a single year, in a publication that otherwise reports a 3% rise for the segment.
The two figures do not describe the same thing.
The most likely explanation lies in methodology. The 2025 edition was based on listing and transaction prices from Meta-Sys and UBS, at the 95th percentile. The 2026 edition relies on a UBS-specific estimate based on data from Wüest Partner, FPRE and UBS. Changing the database and the calculation method mechanically produces a break in the series, which is not a rise in the market.
Hypothesis to be confirmed: we have not yet obtained the full methodological note for the 2026 edition. We will update this article as soon as this point is settled.
What this means in practical terms: the move from 36’000 to 43’000 CHF/m² does not mean that properties in Cologny have gained 20% in twelve months. An owner who based their asking price on this reading would be aiming at the wrong target. The actual rise for the segment, as measured by UBS, is around 3%.
The real hierarchy of the Left Bank
Average prices for the luxury segment, in CHF per m²:
| Municipality | Average price |
|---|---|
| Cologny | 42’000 |
| Vandœuvres | 33’000 |
| Chêne-Bougeries | 32’000 |
| Collonge-Bellerive | 31’000 |
| Anières | 30’000 |
| City of Geneva | 28’000 |
The table uses 42’000 for Cologny, while the study’s text uses 43’000 — the difference is probably due to rounding or the scope considered.
The gap between Cologny and Vandœuvres is around 27%. These are two neighbouring municipalities, often treated as a homogeneous group in the press. They are not. The same budget does not buy the same floor area from one municipality to another.
The upper end of the Left Bank sits within a narrow range. Between Vandœuvres, Chêne-Bougeries, Collonge-Bellerive and Anières, the spread is 10%. At this level, it is no longer the municipality that determines a property’s price, but the plot, the view, the orientation and its condition.
Why price per square metre says almost nothing at the top of the market
A municipal average combines incomparable property types: PPE (condominium) apartments, contemporary villas, manor properties on large plots, and properties requiring renovation. Applying 43’000 CHF/m² to a specific property produces considerable variances in both directions.
One example: at 43’000 CHF/m², a 150 m² apartment would work out at CHF 6.45 million. Yet the range actually observed for this type of property is more like CHF 4 to 5 million. The discrepancy is explained by the fact that the municipal average is pulled upward by villas on large plots, where land value dominates. A square metre of apartment and a square metre of villa are not the same unit.
What these figures mean for you
You are an owner considering selling. UBS expects the luxury segment to underperform this year, against a backdrop of declining affordability. In practical terms: the initial listing price matters more than ever. A property launched above market level does not correct itself for free — it loses visibility and negotiating power as it lingers on listings.
You are looking to buy. The table above shows where to look. For the same budget, the gap between Cologny and neighbouring municipalities represents a significantly larger floor area. Properties requiring renovation remain the main source of value — provided the works are costed properly and their tax treatment is understood, distinguishing deductible maintenance from added value.
You hold property to let. Geneva’s high-end rental market remains supported by international organisations and multinational headquarters. The study’s data covers sale prices and does not directly indicate rental yield.
The Rousseau 5 perspective
We read these averages with caution, for a simple reason: the top of the Geneva market does not generate enough transactions to draw reliable trends from. Over the past twelve months, we recorded around ten sales above CHF 15 million across the whole canton. At this volume, a single atypical transaction shifts the average by several thousand francs per square metre.
What we observe, moreover, has less to do with price than with the supply itself. A significant proportion of available properties are ageing and do not justify the amount asked: dated specifications, layouts poorly suited to current uses, and works to be carried out that are rarely factored into the listed price. International buyers, who arrive with comparable benchmarks from elsewhere in the world, see this immediately — and walk away. In our view, Geneva’s luxury market is currently overvalued overall relative to the quality actually on offer.
This is why we increasingly direct our clients towards new-build projects. Construction and finishing standards there are significantly higher, and the relationship between the asking price and the quality delivered is clear. This is the segment where the gap between expectations and supply is currently the smallest.
For the owner of an existing property, the consequence is direct: at this level of the market, presentation quality and price realism are no longer adjustable variables.
To find out more
If these figures precede a project: our method for selling a luxury property in Geneva, our method for valuing an exceptional property, and access to the off-market — where a significant share of the top end of the market is concluded. For the underlying structure of the Geneva market, our structural analysis; for sales recorded municipality by municipality, the transactions map. Technical terms in the glossary.