Calculators · Financing

Affordability calculator: mortgage and equity

Can I afford this property, and how much can it cost? The calculator checks own funds, loan-to-value and affordability the way Swiss banks do, and shows housing costs at the imputed rate and at your actual rate. Every assumption is visible and can be changed.

Can I afford this property?How much can my property cost?

Purchase price

CHF

Price of the property, excluding purchase costs.

Own funds, excluding pension fund

CHF

Savings, securities, pillar 3a, advance on inheritance, gift, surrender value of life insurance.

Pension fund (2nd pillar)

CHF

Early withdrawal or pledge. Counts towards the 20 %, but not towards the 10 % that must come from other own funds.

Gross household income per year

CHF

All borrowers together, including 13th month salary. Bonuses only if the bank counts them.

Add up your own funds (excluding pension fund)

Savings, securities, cash

CHF

Account balances and investments available for the purchase.

Pillar 3a

CHF

Withdrawal or pledge for owner-occupied property. Counts as hard own funds.

Advance on inheritance or gift

CHF

Money from the family that does not have to be repaid.

Life insurance, surrender value

CHF

Pillar 3b policies can be withdrawn or pledged.

Building land, other assets

CHF

Unbuilt land you contribute, or other assets the bank accepts.

Total own funds excluding pension fund

CHF

The total is entered above as own funds excluding pension fund.

Adjust assumptions (interest, costs, amortisation, age)

Imputed interest rate

Banks calculate with a long-term average, usually 5 %.

Ancillary and maintenance costs

Per year, as a percentage of the purchase price. Banks use 0.7 to 1 %.

Affordability limit

Housing costs as a share of gross income. The rule of thumb is one third.

Amortisation period

years

Years in which the second mortgage must be repaid to two thirds of the value. Maximum 15.

Maximum loan-to-value

Share of the purchase price the bank finances. Usually 80 %.

Your actual interest rate

Example value. Enter the rate of your bank’s offer to see today’s costs.

Age of the oldest borrower

years

Optional. From 50, banks shorten the amortisation period to retirement at 65.

Existing commitments per year

CHF

Leasing, loans, alimony. The bank adds them to the housing costs.

Result

Financing

Purchase price

Own funds ()

of which excluding pension fund ()

of which pension fund

Mortgage

1st mortgage (up to 66⅔ %)

2nd mortgage

Loan-to-value

Annual costs, as the bank calculates

Interest at

Amortisation of 2nd mortgage

Ancillary and maintenance costs

Total per year

per month

Affordability (share of income)

Today’s costs at your interest rate

Interest at

Total per month, incl. amortisation and ancillary costs

To reach 20 % own funds, are missing.
At least 10 % of the purchase price must come from own funds other than the pension fund. are missing.
For an affordability of at most , you would need a gross income of per year, or around more own funds.
Just above the limit: some banks calculate with 4.5 % instead of 5 % or count bonuses. Worth a conversation.
At , banks require the second mortgage to be repaid by retirement, here within years.
From 65, banks usually finance at most two thirds of the value. The calculation uses this limit.
Limited by own funds: every additional CHF 10’000 of own funds raises the possible purchase price by .
Limited by income: every additional CHF 10’000 of annual income raises the possible purchase price by around .
No second mortgage needed: loan-to-value is below 66⅔ %, so no amortisation is required.

Guide values based on the minimum requirements of the Swiss Bankers Association and banking practice. Not a financing commitment: your bank’s assessment is decisive. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

The calculator needs JavaScript. Rule of thumb: at least 20 % own funds (10 % not from the pension fund), and interest at 5 %, amortisation and 1 % ancillary costs together at most one third of gross income.

How Swiss banks calculate.

Three rules decide every mortgage. Two are set out in the minimum requirements of the Swiss Bankers Association; the third is established practice.

20 % own funds, 10 % of them hard

The bank finances at most 80 % of the purchase price. At least 10 % must come from funds other than the pension fund: savings, pillar 3a, an advance on inheritance, a gift. Pension fund money can only fill the second 10 %.

Housing costs at most one third

Interest at the imputed rate of 5 % on the whole mortgage, amortisation of the second mortgage and 1 % ancillary costs may together not exceed one third of gross income. That keeps the financing affordable even if rates rise.

Second mortgage gone in 15 years

The first mortgage covers two thirds of the purchase price. Anything above is the second mortgage and must be repaid within 15 years or by retirement. The older the borrowers, the shorter the period and the higher the annual amortisation.

Every bank calculates a little differently

The rules are the same, the figures not quite. Luzerner Kantonalbank is slightly more lenient than UBS. This calculator uses the stricter variant so that the result holds at any bank; in the assumptions you can set every figure to your bank’s practice.

Assumption	This calculator	Luzerner Kantonalbank	UBS
Imputed interest rate	5 %	4.5 %	5 %
Ancillary and maintenance costs	1 % of purchase price	0.75 %	around 1 %
Affordability limit	33 % of gross income	34 % of net income	33 % of gross income
First mortgage up to	66⅔ %	66 %	67 %
Maximum loan-to-value	80 %	80 %	80 %
Amortisation of second mortgage	15 years, by retirement	15 years	15 years or by retirement
10 % hard own funds checked	yes	as a note only	yes

As of 10 October 2026, read from the two banks’ calculator pages. Fixed-rate mortgage rates change daily; enter the rate of your offer under “Your actual interest rate”.

Worked example

Purchase price CHF 1’000’000, own funds CHF 200’000 of which CHF 50’000 from the pension fund, gross household income CHF 180’000 per year.

Step	Amount
Mortgage (purchase price minus own funds)	CHF 800’000
of which first mortgage (two thirds of the price)	CHF 666’667
of which second mortgage	CHF 133’333
Imputed interest 5 % on CHF 800’000	CHF 40’000
Amortisation of second mortgage over 15 years	CHF 8’889
Ancillary costs 1 % of purchase price	CHF 10’000
Housing costs per year, as the bank calculates	CHF 58’889
Affordability (58’889 / 180’000)	32.7 %, affordable
Today’s costs per month at 2 % interest	around CHF 2’907

What counts as equity

Hard own funds: account and savings balances, securities, pillar 3a (withdrawal or pledge), advance on inheritance and gifts, surrender value of a life insurance policy, unbuilt building land you contribute.
Pension fund (2nd pillar): early withdrawal or pledge for owner-occupied property. Counts towards the 20 %, not towards the 10 % hard funds. A withdrawal lowers your later pension; a pledge leaves the money in the fund.
Loans from the family: only count as equity if they need neither interest nor repayment, in other words if they are effectively a gift.
Your current home: the sale proceeds after mortgage and property gains tax are the largest item for many buyers. The free valuation and the property gains tax calculator show how much that is.

The calculator does not pre-empt a financing decision. What the bank accepts, it decides in conversation, and it values the property itself, usually with the same hedonic models we use. If the purchase price is above the bank’s value, it finances less and the difference needs additional own funds.

Sources

Swiss Bankers Association: Guidelines on minimum requirements for mortgage financing (10 % own funds not from the 2nd pillar, amortisation to two thirds within 15 years), retrieved 10 October 2026
FINMA, press release of 2 July 2014: recognition of the revised self-regulation in the mortgage sector, retrieved 10 October 2026
Luzerner Kantonalbank: mortgage calculator (imputed interest 4.5 %, maintenance 0.75 %, affordability 34 % of net income, 1st mortgage 66 %), retrieved 10 October 2026
UBS: mortgage calculator, questions and answers (imputed interest 5 %, maintenance 1 %, at most 33 % of gross income, 1st mortgage 67 %), retrieved 10 October 2026

Questions about affordability

Gross or net income?

Most banks use the gross household income, UBS for example with a limit of 33 %. Luzerner Kantonalbank uses 34 % of net income. The calculator works with gross income; if you prefer net income, set the limit in the assumptions to 34 or 35 %.

Why does the bank calculate with 5 % interest when my mortgage costs 2 %?

The bank checks whether you could still carry the housing costs if interest rates rose considerably. For this it uses a long-term average, usually 5 %, at Luzerner Kantonalbank 4.5 %. Your actual costs at today’s rate are shown separately.

Does pension fund money count as equity?

Yes, as an early withdrawal or pledge for owner-occupied property. But it only counts towards the 20 % total; at least 10 % of the purchase price must come from other sources such as savings, pillar 3a, an advance on inheritance or a gift. This is required by the minimum standards of the Swiss Bankers Association.

What is the second mortgage, and why must it be repaid?

The first mortgage usually covers two thirds of the purchase price. Whatever the bank finances beyond that, up to 80 %, is the second mortgage. It must be repaid within 15 years or by retirement. This amortisation counts towards the housing costs the bank uses for affordability.

What counts as ancillary and maintenance costs?

Heating, water, electricity, waste, caretaking, insurance and minor repairs. Banks use a flat rate of 0.7 to 1 % of the purchase price per year. For condominiums, the contribution to the renovation fund comes on top.

Affordability is fine, but my own funds are short. What now?

An advance on inheritance or a gift, pillar 3a, pension fund money up to the 10 % limit, or the sale of your current home. If you sell first, know the value before you search: the free valuation based on the models banks use shows how much equity is tied up in your current home.

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