The construction main sector generated a turnover of 6.2 billion Swiss francs in the second quarter of 2026 (+1.3 percent). Overall, building activity increased by 3.1 percent in the first half of the year, while orders grew by 1.6 percent. In this, building construction is outpacing civil engineering. Especially residential construction and public building construction achieved growth of over 5 percent in the first semester, while civil engineering declined by 2 percent.
Housing projects increasingly stalled
New orders and building activity in residential construction have increased, but the order backlog grew even more. In the 2000s, the workload corresponded to about five months of the building activity at the time. Since 2020, the ratio has been about eight months. This development is encouraging because it means construction companies are busier for longer. However, a larger order backlog also means that significantly more time elapses today between order placement and completion than in the past.
It takes considerably longer to erect residential buildings. Causes are primarily objections and appeals, more complex planning and approval processes, and intricate densification projects. Therefore, the workload is not suitable as a leading indicator for residential construction. Instead, the order intake can be used. As a rule of thumb: One billion Swiss francs of actual order intake corresponds to around 6,000 newly constructed apartments the following year. With an order intake of around 8 billion Swiss francs in 2025, this results in a magnitude of approximately 48,000 new apartments for 2026. This brings supply finally close to demand.
However, the peak in new orders is likely to have been reached for now: In the first half of 2026, as many new orders were issued in residential construction as in the previous year's period. As housing applications were weak in 2025, orders should tend to decrease throughout the rest of the year. Consequently, fewer apartments will be built in 2027 than in 2026.
Despite satisfactory workload, civil engineering fails to gain momentum
In civil engineering, the workload has gradually increased to a satisfactory 8 billion Swiss francs in recent quarters. The increase is due, for example, to several tunnelling projects. However, the high workload has not yet translated into higher building activity, which has stagnated for several quarters. Objections and lengthy procedures delay projects. In railway construction, significantly more maintenance would actually need to be done, but the limited personnel and financial resources across the value chain and ongoing railway operations impose severe constraints. Although construction is taking place on national and major cantonal roads, the price pressure is high. Particularly, the increased material costs, such as for bitumen, pose challenges for all involved.
Transport '45 can trigger momentum
Until 9 October 2026, the consultation on "Transport '45", the next major expansion steps for rail and road as well as in agglomerations, is ongoing. Civil engineering may be in a certain waiting position until the political process has advanced further. The SBV welcomes the fact that all three transport modes are being planned and coordinated together for the first time. Accordingly, they should be dealt with collectively in parliament and assessed by the public at the ballot box. A temporarily limited retention of the value-added tax promille for the BIF appears sensible to the SBV. Since the road carries about 75 percent of the person-kilometres, a very high share of traffic performance, more than just the previously planned two national road projects should be tackled in the national road expansion step 2027 of the overall "Transport '45" package.