Basel Country construction activity reaches record high

Basel Country recorded CHF 2.5 billion in construction activity in 2025, the highest value ever measured in the canton. The cantonal statistics office reported on August 21, 2026, that construction spending increased by 4.8%, equivalent to CHF 116 million, compared with 2024.

The figures show a building sector powered by major projects outside private housebuilding. Investment in non-residential construction climbed 24% to CHF 515 million, while public-sector construction rose 23% to CHF 314 million. These increases lifted the overall market even as private housebuilding, still the largest individual segment, declined by about 7% to CHF 1.3 billion.

The result gives Basel Country a strong construction headline, while also revealing a shift in what the canton is building. Commercial, institutional and public works accounted for much of the additional spending. Residential construction continued, but its composition changed, with fewer detached homes and a greater role for flats and conversions.

For the regional economy, the record points to sustained demand for contractors, suppliers and construction services. For residents, the housing figures offer a more detailed picture than the headline total alone.

Public and non-residential projects supplied the strongest growth in 2025. Spending on non-residential construction reached CHF 515 million, up nearly one quarter from the previous year. Public-sector construction added another CHF 314 million, a rise of 23%.

The source data does not identify individual projects or name the public bodies behind the investment. It does show that construction growth extended beyond the private housing market. Schools, administrative facilities, transport-related works, commercial buildings and other non-residential projects fall within the categories tracked by the cantonal statistics office, although the report does not provide a further breakdown.

Private housebuilding still generated the greatest amount of investment, at CHF 1.3 billion, but the segment contracted by around 7%. That decline mattered less to the total because the other two categories expanded sharply. The pattern reflects a year in which the value of large-scale institutional and commercial work rose faster than the value of private residential projects.

Basel Country sits within one of Switzerland’s most connected economic regions, alongside Basel City and the cross-border areas of France and Germany. The 2025 figures place the canton’s public and commercial building pipeline at the centre of its construction performance.

Basel Country added 1,783 homes in 2025, around 8% more than in the previous year. The increase came largely through apartment construction and conversions rather than detached houses.

Developers completed 1,653 new flats, broadly matching the previous year’s level. Conversions created a further 228 flats, while demolition removed 98 flats from the housing stock. Detached-house construction moved in the opposite direction: only 205 new houses were built during the year.

The apartment mix also shifted toward smaller units. One-bedroom flats doubled to 142, and two-bedroom flats increased by a quarter to 403. Construction of three-, four- and five-bedroom flats declined. The figures do not explain whether the change reflects demand, land prices, planning decisions or the economics of current projects, but they show a clear change in the size profile of newly completed homes.

That profile matters in a canton where housing demand is shaped by its proximity to Basel’s employment centres and transport links. More apartments can expand the number of available homes, while fewer larger units and detached houses limit the range of new housing types entering the market. The 2025 data records both developments in the same year.

Arlesheim dominated Basel Country’s district-level construction figures, with CHF 1.3 billion in investment and 1,130 new flats completed in 2025. The district recorded the highest levels of both construction spending and apartment completions in the canton.

Laufen also registered an increase in construction activity, according to the cantonal report. The picture was weaker in Liestal, Sissach and Waldenburg, where significantly fewer new flats were completed than in the previous year. The results underline how unevenly the canton’s construction cycle is developing across its districts.

The concentration in Arlesheim gives the district a substantial role in the canton’s housing expansion. Its total investment alone represented more than half of Basel Country’s CHF 2.5 billion construction market, although the reported district figure covers construction spending broadly and is not limited to housing.

The 2025 figures provide a snapshot rather than a forecast. They do not state how many projects remain in the pipeline, how construction costs changed, or whether the rise in completed homes will continue. They do establish a clear geographic pattern: Arlesheim carried much of the canton’s building momentum, while several other districts saw apartment completions fall.

Basel Country’s record was built on a mixed foundation: more homes overall, fewer detached houses and a sharp rise in public and non-residential spending. That combination will shape the canton’s construction debate as new projects move from planning to completion.

The immediate housing figure is positive in volume terms. The canton completed 1,783 homes, including 1,653 new flats, in 2025. Yet the details point toward a market increasingly oriented toward smaller apartment units. One-bedroom and two-bedroom construction increased, while larger flats and detached homes declined.

At the same time, the broader construction market reached its peak because non-residential and public investment expanded rapidly. Whether that level can be maintained will depend on future public budgets, commercial demand and the pipeline of approved projects. The source report offers no projection for 2026.

For Swiss households, the most relevant measure will be how many of the new homes match local needs and where they are delivered. For the canton, the challenge is balancing continued investment in schools, public facilities and economic infrastructure with a housing supply that includes different household sizes. In 2025, Basel Country built more, but it also built a noticeably different mix of places to live.