Intrest rates for morgages in Switzerland are around 1% and for tax reasons most people only pay off a third of their property. The payments are very managable, as long as you have the downpayment. You can't fully compare this with a similar price in the US where interest rates are much higher and people pay off the full morgage.

You can pay off your mortgage if you want to. I know several people who did or set it up like that.

However then your interest rate is not 1%. The best I've seen is 30 year fixed, where you pay off your house is 2.5%.

I'm paying 0.65% right now, thanks to SARON going to 0.

It just does not make financial sense to pay it off even if could.

Couldn't you just not live "lakeside"?

of course that's an option. then you can get a house for a measly 2 million! public transport will only take an hour or more from there .. :)

my wife doesn't drive and we wanted to have access to good public schools and good transportation. this is not a given if you go more rural. The postbus goes maybe every hour or so.

the lakeside communities near Zurich are great and all of our friends live in one of them (on the same side of the lake of course). not living here would have severe effects on my wife's and our kids' social lives.