For many years, the city’s most expensive residential neighbourhoods have largely been concentrated on the lower eastern shore of Lake Zurich, in the area aptly named the Goldküste (Gold Coast).
But these communities have been facing fierce competition from the area located on the lake’s left bank.
Previously made up mostly of middle-class households and shunned by the wealthy due to its lack of sun exposure - which the Gold Coast enjoys - the Pfnüselküste has nevertheless been attracting rich foreigners to its shores, who now outnumber Swiss residents.
According to local real estate agent, Niki Thomet, four out of five people who purchase properties in the area are foreign nationals.
Gold versus Platinum
For the past several years, the Pfnüselküste has been catching up and even exceeding (in terms of property prices) its wealthy neighbour, and earning a new name in the process: the Platinum Coast.
“The left side of Lake Zurich is more sought-after than ever," Thomet said.
“Old money lives on the Goldküste, but the new money resides on the Pfnüselküste – and there is further growth in it,” he pointed out, adding that this boom "is driven primarily by wealthy expats."
And this is reflected in skyrocketing property prices.
In Platinum communities of Horgen and Kilchberg (the latter now considered Switzerland's richest municipality), a square metre of space currently sells for 35,000 francs, while on the Gold Coast, it costs 'only' 30,000 francs.
This is much higher than the average price in Zurich, which ranges from 18,294 to 19,425 francs per square metre, depending on the type of property.
In Thalwil, for instance, Thomet is marketing the region's most expensive (to date) apartment: 5.5 rooms and 186 square metres of living space for 6.28 million francs.
But that's not all: Those who have lived on Platinum Coast for decades – that is, since it used to be middle-class Pfnüselküste - can now sell their properties for a huge profit: a 100-square-metre apartment that cost around 1 million francs in 2005 is worth 2.5 million today.
The downside
This evolution has, however, a negative side as well.
As rich foreigners drive up real estate prices on the Platinum Coast, less wealthy residents may be “forced to move away,” said UBS real estate expert Claudio Saputelli.
This phenomenon has already been observed in the Swiss Alps, where rich people buy holiday homes and usurp longtime residents.
As the wealthy move in and prices go up, the lower and middle-class people can no longer afford to live in these communities and end up moving away.
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