Lots of lake, Porsches and almost no cooperative apartments: We visit Quartier Seefeld in district 8

If you love water, Seefeld is the right place for you: around 70% of the area of this district, which stretches along the right bank of the lake from the opera house to Tiefenbrunnen station, is covered by water (or more precisely: Lake Zurich). The populated area is said to have the highest density of Porsche owners in the world. Unfortunately, anyone looking for cheap housing will probably not find what they are looking for here. Only PWG, the Zürcher Bau- und Wohngenossenschaft (ZBWG) and the City of Zurich offer affordable housing here. In this blog post, we introduce you to their properties and also explain the term “Seefeldisierung”.

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Zürcher Bau- und Wohngenossenschaft at Höschgasse

The ZBWG is the only real cooperative to own a property in Seefeld at Höschgasse 32. The building, built in the Neo-Renaissance style, is part of a courtyard development from the end of the last millennium. During our visit, a resident gave us a friendly wave. It is probably impossible to get hold of a cheap apartment here. The ZBWG advertises vacant apartments on its website, but this only happens very rarely. Since the start of our activity in summer 2023, we have only found four listings for vacant apartments at this cooperative and sent them out on a search subscription basis. All were in district 6 near the universities. At Höschgasse 32, there is therefore probably only extremely rarely anything vacant, and whether this apartment will then be publicly advertised is questionable. There are definitely better opportunities at PWG or the City of Zurich.

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PWG: Several properties in Seefeld

PWG is not a cooperative, but a foundation. Nevertheless, we are happy to list it because it offers affordable housing throughout the city of Zurich and advertises many more apartments compared to cooperatives. Cooperatives with a similar number of apartments also advertise much less frequently than PWG. We conclude that apartments are never given out 'under hand', which is why everything is advertised publicly. In Seefeld, PWG owns some apartments. You need a bit of luck to get an apartment here. As already mentioned, PWG advertises extremely frequently. However, vacant apartments in Seefeld are also a rarity at PWG. Since August 2023, around 8 apartments have been advertised here at PWG, which of course we all have in Suchabo have sent. The opportunities are therefore small.

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Hornbach settlement in the city of Zurich

The biggest provider of cheap apartments in Seefeld is definitely the city of Zurich itself. Here in 2021, it built the Hornbach settlement. With 125 apartments and a focus on family apartments, this settlement also enables lower-income people to live in this great neighborhood and thus counteracts so-called “Seefeldisierung”. (More about that below). A 4.5-room apartment with an area of 95 - 107 square meters costs between 1,565 and 1,740 francs per month. Such prices are feasible thanks to cost rent and are unthinkable on the free market. A quick look at Homegate shows that a 4.5-room apartment in Seefeld is more than 6,000 francs a month! Fortunately, there is the settlement of Hornbach. Settlement life is characterized by a active club, which organizes events and promotes cooperation. Since the apartments are very popular, there is rarely anything vacant here. Since we began monitoring municipal apartments (January 2024), two apartments have been advertised here. One of them was a 5.5 room apartment for 1,591 francs per month, which was advertised in May 2025. Really cheap, especially for this location! Congratulations to the people who were able to move in here!

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The "Seefeldisierung"

There are virtually no cheap apartments in Quartier Seefeld. This is due, among other things, to so-called Seefeldisierung. This term describes the process of renovations, upgrades and subsequent rent increases, which has led to an enormous increase in rents in Seefeld since the 1990s and thus to the expulsion of certain sections of the population from the district. Many neighborhood stores have also disappeared since then. Projects such as the construction of the Hornbach settlement are essential to counteract this delicate development, which is resulting in the displacement of certain people throughout the city. It would probably also be desirable for foundations such as PWG and also the city of Zurich itself to buy even more real estate in the district in order to save it from maritime deforestation.

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Conclusion: It is extremely difficult to find cooperative housing in Seefeld

Unfortunately, cheap apartments are scarce in this neighborhood. Real cooperative apartments in Seefeld are only available at the ZBWG. In the last ten years, around 250 apartments have been built in this district. However, none of them are owned by a housing cooperative. Even the city of Zurich and the PWG have very few inexpensive offers here. If you're looking for cooperative housing, we recommend that you focus on other quarters. You can find lots of information about the cooperatives in Zurich's 12 districts on our blog.

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