The search for an apartment has become even more difficult over the past year according to the federal housing office.

Rents for available flats rose more in 2011 than in the year before.

Across Switzerland the average increase was .33 percent in 2010. Last year that figure went up to 3 percent.

Average rents went up by almost 7 percent in western Switzerland, and 2.5 percent in the Zurich region.

In western and central Switzerland, immigration was pinpointed as a major factor contributing to the rise in rents.