Flatfox.ch Property Search Scraper: Extract Swiss Real Estate Market Data

Understanding Flatfox.ch and Its Swiss Real Estate Value

Flatfox.ch stands as Switzerland's fastest-growing digital real estate platform, revolutionizing how Swiss properties are rented. Unlike traditional listing sites, Flatfox combines modern technology with comprehensive property data, serving renters, landlords, and real estate professionals across German, French, and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland.

The platform specializes in Swiss rental properties—apartments, houses, commercial spaces—with detailed information about pricing, locations, availability dates, and property features. For real estate agencies managing Swiss portfolios, market researchers analyzing rental trends, or investors evaluating opportunities, Flatfox provides unmatched insights into one of Europe's most expensive and competitive rental markets.

Manually collecting property data across multiple cities, cantons, and price ranges requires countless hours navigating search filters and copying information. The Flatfox.ch Property Search Scraper automates this workflow, transforming search results into structured datasets ready for analysis, competitive intelligence, or portfolio management.

What This Scraper Extracts and Who Should Use It

The Flatfox.ch Property Search Scraper processes search result page URLs—the pages displaying multiple properties after applying location, price, or type filters. This approach efficiently captures broad datasets across different searches, regions, or property categories.

The scraper extracts essential property information including titles, descriptions, prices (net rent, charges, gross rent), locations (street, zipcode, city, coordinates), property specifications (rooms, surface area, floor), dates (availability, construction year), media assets (images, videos, virtual tours), and agency details.

Target Users:

Real Estate Agencies build comprehensive property databases across Swiss cantons to match clients with available rentals. Market Researchers gain insights into rental pricing trends, demand patterns, and geographic availability. Property Investment Firms monitor market opportunities, analyze pricing strategies, and identify undervalued locations. Relocation Services provide international clients with current Swiss rental market data for informed decisions. PropTech Companies integrate Flatfox data into rental platforms, price prediction models, or comparative market analysis tools.

Input Configuration: Search URLs and Parameters Explained

The scraper processes Flatfox search result URLs displaying multiple properties with applied filters. Understanding URL construction ensures targeted data collection.

Example Input Configuration:

{
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  },
  "max_items_per_url": 20,
  "ignore_url_failures": true,
  "urls": [
    "https://flatfox.ch/en/search/?east=15.276851&north=48.879369&south=43.701361&take=240&west=-3.411359"
  ]
}

Example Screenshot:

Parameter Breakdown:

proxy configuration: Set useApifyProxy: false for basic scraping, or enable residential proxies for large-scale operations. Flatfox may rate-limit automated requests, so proxies provide reliability for extensive data collection.

max_items_per_url: Controls property count per search page. Setting to 20 extracts up to 20 listings from each URL. Flatfox displays 20-50 properties per page depending on filters. Higher values (100-240) work when pages contain extensive results.

ignore_url_failures: When true, scraper continues despite individual URL failures. Essential when processing multiple search URLs where some may timeout or return errors.

urls array: Contains search result URLs with geographic or filter parameters. The example URL uses bounding box coordinates (north, south, east, west) to define search areas. Alternative URL formats include city-specific searches or filter combinations (price range, room count, property type).

Building Search URLs: Perform manual searches on Flatfox with desired filters (location, price, rooms, availability). Copy resulting URLs. For comprehensive datasets, create multiple URLs covering different regions or property segments.

Complete Output Structure and Field Definitions

The scraper returns JSON data with each property as an object containing detailed fields. Understanding field purposes enables effective analysis and application.

PK: Primary key—unique identifier for each property in Flatfox database. Purpose: Database indexing, tracking specific properties over time, avoiding duplicates, linking to detail pages.

Slug: URL-friendly property identifier used in web addresses. Purpose: Constructing direct property URLs, alternative identifier, SEO optimization.

URL: Direct link to full property listing on Flatfox. Purpose: Accessing complete details, sharing opportunities with clients, verification of scraped data.

Short URL: Abbreviated version of property URL for easy sharing. Purpose: Social media sharing, SMS distribution, marketing campaigns.

Submit URL: Application submission endpoint. Purpose: Direct application integration, tracking application methods.

Status: Current listing state (active, rented, withdrawn). Purpose: Filtering available properties, tracking fill rates, analyzing market velocity.

Created: Timestamp when listing was first posted. Purpose: Age calculation, analyzing posting patterns, identifying fresh listings vs. stale inventory.

Offer Type: Rental or sale classification. Purpose: Market segmentation, filtering by transaction type.

Object Category / Object Type: Property classification (residential, commercial) and specific type (apartment, house, studio, commercial space). Purpose: Categorization, filtering by property preferences, market composition analysis.

Reference / Reference Property / Reference House / Reference Object / Alternative Reference: Multiple reference numbers used by agencies and Flatfox systems. Purpose: Cross-referencing with agency databases, tracking properties across platforms, unique identification.

Price Display / Price Display Type / Price Unit: Formatted price string and display method. Purpose: User-friendly price presentation, understanding pricing conventions.

Published: Publication status (true/false). Purpose: Filtering publicly visible listings, tracking unpublished/draft properties.

Rent Net / Rent Charges / Rent Gross: Three-tier pricing structure—base rent, additional charges (utilities, maintenance), and total rent. Purpose: Transparent cost analysis, comparing true rental costs, budgeting for total housing expenses. Switzerland legally requires separating net rent from charges.

Short Title / Public Title / Pitch Title / Description Title: Multiple title variations for different contexts. Purpose: Display optimization across platforms, SEO, marketing copy.

Description: Full property description including features, location benefits, requirements. Purpose: Complete context for tenant matching, keyword extraction, content for listing displays.

Surface Living / Surface Property / Surface Usable / Surface Usable Minimum: Multiple surface area measurements in square meters—living space, total property size, usable area, minimum usable space. Purpose: Size-based filtering, price-per-square-meter calculations, space requirement matching.

Volume: Property volume in cubic meters (Swiss-specific metric). Purpose: Additional space measurement, heating cost estimation.

Space Display: Formatted space string for display purposes. Purpose: User-friendly size presentation.

Number Of Rooms: Total room count (Swiss counting method includes living rooms but excludes kitchens/bathrooms). Purpose: Primary search/filter criterion, family size matching.

Floor: Property floor level (0 = ground floor, negative = basement). Purpose: Preference matching (elevator access, view, noise levels), accessibility considerations.

Attributes: Array of property features (balcony, parking, elevator, pets allowed, wheelchair accessible). Purpose: Feature-based filtering, amenity analysis, matching tenant requirements.

Is Furnished / Is Temporary / Is Selling Furniture / Is Swap: Boolean flags for special rental conditions. Purpose: Specialized rental filtering, identifying short-term vs. long-term options.

Street / Zipcode / City: Physical address components. Purpose: Location-based searching, geographic analysis, proximity calculations.

Public Address: Formatted full address string. Purpose: Display-ready location information, mapping integration.

Latitude / Longitude: Precise geographic coordinates. Purpose: Map visualization, proximity calculations, geographic clustering, regional analysis.

Year Built / Year Renovated: Construction and renovation timestamps. Purpose: Property age assessment, modernization evaluation, investment analysis.

Moving Date Type / Moving Date: Availability type (immediate, specific date, negotiable) and actual date. Purpose: Urgency assessment, matching tenant timeline requirements, seasonal trend analysis.

Video URL / Tour URL / Website URL / Live Viewing URL: Media and viewing links—video walkthroughs, virtual tours, property websites, live viewing sessions. Purpose: Enhanced listing presentations, remote viewing facilitation, marketing asset collection.

Cover Image: Primary property image URL. Purpose: Thumbnail displays, visual identification, marketing materials.

Images: Array of all property image URLs. Purpose: Complete visual documentation, gallery displays, visual analysis.

Documents: Array of document URLs (floor plans, energy certificates, regulations). Purpose: Detailed property information, compliance documentation, decision-making materials.

Agency: Agency information object (name, contact, logo). Purpose: Agency profiling, contact facilitation, market share analysis.

Is Liked / Is Disliked / Is Subscribed: User interaction flags (requires authentication). Purpose: Tracking user preferences, personalization, engagement metrics.

Reserved: Reservation status indicator. Purpose: Identifying properties with pending applications, market competitiveness signals.

State / Country: Geographic administrative divisions. Purpose: Canton-level analysis (Switzerland has 26 cantons), international properties filtering.

SMG ID: Swiss Market Group identifier (Flatfox parent company). Purpose: Cross-platform tracking, corporate database linking.

Flatfox Priority Exclusive Until: Premium listing expiration timestamp. Purpose: Identifying prioritized listings, analyzing premium placement strategies.

Rent Title: Formatted rent display string. Purpose: User-friendly rent presentation.

Livingspace: Living area in square meters. Purpose: Primary space metric for Swiss market, price-per-square-meter calculations.

Sample Output:

[
  {
  "pk": 85486325,
  "slug": "rue-du-lac-10-1207-geneve",
  "url": "/en/flat/rue-du-lac-10-1207-geneve/85486325/",
  "short_url": "/85486325/",
  "submit_url": "/en/listing/85486325/submit/",
  "status": "act",
  "created": "2025-11-05T14:29:19.058473+01:00",
  "offer_type": "RENT",
  "object_category": "PARK",
  "object_type": "GARAGE_SLOT",
  "reference": "500230.70.0006",
  "ref_property": "500230",
  "ref_house": "70",
  "ref_object": "0006",
  "alternative_reference": null,
  "price_display": 300,
  "price_display_type": "TOTAL",
  "price_unit": "monthly",
  "published": "2026-01-02T16:05:39.191247+01:00",
  "rent_net": 300,
  "rent_charges": 0,
  "rent_gross": 300,
  "short_title": "Underground slot",
  "public_title": "Rue du Lac 10, 1207 Genève - CHF 300 incl. utilities per month",
  "pitch_title": "Rent a underground slot in Genève",
  "description_title": "Eaux-Vives : Place de parc intérieure",
  "description": "A louer Rue du Lac 10 : place de parc intérieure numéro 6.   \nLoyer CHF 300.- HT   \nLa visite est obligatoire avant toute candidature, pour cela, merci de bien vouloir contacter le concierge de l'immeuble, M. Durak Alija au +41 76 570 45 69",
  "surface_living": null,
  "surface_property": null,
  "surface_usable": null,
  "surface_usable_minimum": null,
  "volume": null,
  "space_display": null,
  "number_of_rooms": null,
  "floor": -1,
  "attributes": [],
  "is_furnished": false,
  "is_temporary": false,
  "is_selling_furniture": false,
  "is_swap": false,
  "street": "Rue du Lac 10",
  "zipcode": 1207,
  "city": "Genève",
  "public_address": "Rue du Lac 10, 1207 Genève",
  "latitude": 46.2042699,
  "longitude": 6.157235399999999,
  "year_built": null,
  "year_renovated": null,
  "moving_date_type": "dat",
  "moving_date": "2026-02-01",
  "video_url": null,
  "tour_url": null,
  "website_url": "http://www.spaces.ch",
  "live_viewing_url": null,
  "cover_image": {
    "pk": 32515249,
    "caption": "Photo immeuble",
    "url": "/thumb/ff/2026/01/b47kzfis7zh1y61zttux45ocxojht07s7rbae9ezw2y8usoklp.jpg?signature=JII13cmtb1qzowoRjKDEo-mI6u9_rgnViFutD6TOX8Q",
    "url_thumb_m": "/thumb/ff/2026/01/b47kzfis7zh1y61zttux45ocxojht07s7rbae9ezw2y8usoklp.jpg?alias=thumb_m&signature=rbEgCtaiqKvZRY2qRtcQTMoW5Z2yWOjOUiHaTR5l7iQ",
    "url_listing_search": "/thumb/ff/2026/01/b47kzfis7zh1y61zttux45ocxojht07s7rbae9ezw2y8usoklp.jpg?alias=listing_search&signature=kijG_qzWpP0OXRGsF-VZR_Yr0daGRCLbKtQ58WtTpSw",
    "ordering": 1,
    "width": 683,
    "height": 1024
  },
  "images": [
    32515249
  ],
  "documents": [],
  "agency": {
    "name": "Régie Kornhaus SA",
    "name_2": null,
    "street": "Rue du Vieux-Billard 3",
    "zipcode": "1205",
    "city": "Genève",
    "country": "CH",
    "logo": {
      "url": "/thumb/org/2021/07/4e2no1d15scd9n6cdlvj5bot7k3ya49i0l4d7c1dapzk43s8sh.png?signature=zI-ng5GH8dNwfEKQ4CohEFXku71gcWRdk3YMYUbWApE",
      "url_org_logo_m": "/thumb/org/2021/07/4e2no1d15scd9n6cdlvj5bot7k3ya49i0l4d7c1dapzk43s8sh.png?alias=org_logo_m&signature=FE_o2zq7DuBEt6C42fDGAFf1em5ip8MyMTo8T_fxi7Y"
    }
  },
  "is_liked": false,
  "is_disliked": false,
  "is_subscribed": false,
  "reserved": false,
  "state": "GE",
  "country": "CH",
  "smg_id": "",
  "flatfox_priority_exclusive_until": null,
  "rent_title": "Rent a underground slot in Genève",
  "livingspace": null,
  "from_url": "https://flatfox.ch/en/search/?east=15.276851&north=48.879369&south=43.701361&take=240&west=-3.411359"
}
]

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

1. Define Target Market: Identify which Swiss regions, property types, or price ranges you need. Consider cantons (Zurich, Geneva, Bern), property categories (apartments, houses), or specific features (furnished, pet-friendly).

2. Build Search URLs: Perform test searches on Flatfox with desired filters. Copy resulting URLs. For comprehensive coverage, create URLs for different cities, price ranges, or property types. Use geographic coordinates for custom boundary searches.

3. Configure Input: Set up JSON with collected URLs. Adjust max_items_per_url based on expected results per page. Enable ignore_url_failures for robustness when scraping multiple regions.

4. Execute Scraping: Launch through Apify console. Monitor real-time progress. Processing 5-10 search pages with 20 properties each typically completes in 2-4 minutes, varying with platform load.

5. Validate Results: Check dataset preview for data quality. Verify critical fields (rent_gross, number_of_rooms, city, status) are populated correctly. Identify any systematic data gaps.

6. Export and Analyze: Export in preferred format—JSON for databases, CSV for Excel analysis. Filter by status to remove inactive listings. Calculate derived metrics like price-per-square-meter.

7. Handle Pagination: For extensive datasets, include multiple page URLs or increase max_items_per_url. Flatfox search pages can contain 50-240 properties depending on filters.

Error Handling: Verify URLs are search result pages, not property detail pages. Check that geographic coordinates are valid (Switzerland bounds: 45.8-47.8 latitude, 5.9-10.5 longitude). Activity logs provide detailed error information.

Strategic Applications for Swiss Real Estate Intelligence

Rental Market Pricing Analysis: Track rent_net, rent_charges, and rent_gross across cantons, cities, and neighborhoods. Calculate average prices by room count, surface area, or location. Identify pricing outliers and undervalued opportunities.

Geographic Demand Mapping: Use latitude/longitude data to visualize property density, identify high-demand areas, and discover emerging neighborhoods. Cross-reference with Swiss transport networks for location value assessment.

Inventory Velocity Tracking: Monitor created timestamps and status changes to calculate average time-to-rent. Identify slow-moving properties (long active duration) suggesting overpricing or market resistance.

Feature-Based Market Segmentation: Analyze attributes distribution—what percentage of properties offer parking, allow pets, have balconies. Identify feature gaps in specific markets, informing development or renovation decisions.

Competitive Agency Analysis: Track agency field to identify major players, their geographic focus, inventory size, and pricing strategies. Monitor which agencies use premium features (flatfox_priority_exclusive_until).

Seasonal Availability Patterns: Analyze moving_date patterns to understand Swiss rental seasonality. Universities drive autumn demand, corporate relocations peak in spring—timing listings optimally maximizes occupancy.

Property Age and Modernization Trends: Compare year_built and year_renovated to assess market composition. Identify opportunities for renovation investments or areas with aging inventory.

Surface Area Price Optimization: Calculate CHF per square meter across property types and locations. Benchmark pricing strategies, identify value anomalies, and optimize new listing prices.

Maximizing Data Value and Best Practices

Schedule Regular Scraping: Swiss rental market updates daily with new properties. Weekly scraping captures market dynamics, tracks price changes, and identifies new opportunities before competition.

Canton-Specific Segmentation: Switzerland's 26 cantons have distinct markets, regulations, and pricing. Create separate datasets per canton for localized analysis rather than treating Switzerland as single market.

Multi-Language Consideration: Flatfox operates in German, French, Italian, and English. Properties may appear differently in each language version. Scrape multiple language versions for comprehensive coverage or stick to one for consistency.

Enrich With External Data: Combine Flatfox data with Swiss Federal Statistical Office data, public transport timetables (SBB), school ratings, or tax rates. Cross-reference coordinates with points of interest for enhanced location scoring.

Historical Price Tracking: Store snapshots of same property over time. Track rent changes, attribute modifications, or status updates. Historical data reveals pricing strategies and market adaptations.

Quality Filters: Implement validation checks—rent_gross should equal rent_net + rent_charges, surface measurements should be logical, status should be current. Flag anomalies for manual review.

Coordinate Validation: Verify latitude/longitude fall within Swiss boundaries. Invalid coordinates indicate data errors or properties outside Switzerland.

Reference Number Tracking: Use PK as primary identifier but also track reference fields for cross-platform matching when agencies list on multiple sites.

Data Governance and Swiss Market Considerations

GDPR Compliance: Swiss data protection laws align with GDPR. Scraped property data is generally public information, but agency contact details require careful handling. Use data only for intended business purposes.

Respect Rate Limits: While scraper handles technical aspects, avoid overwhelming Flatfox with excessive concurrent requests. Space out large scraping operations over hours or days.

Data Refresh Strategy: Properties rent quickly in competitive markets like Zurich or Geneva. Daily scraping for high-demand areas, weekly for broader markets. Archive inactive properties rather than deleting—historical data shows market trends.

Swiss-Specific Metrics: Understand Swiss conventions—room counts include half-rooms (3.5, 4.5), rent separates net from charges by law, volume measurements are common. Apply these standards when analyzing or displaying data.

Multi-Currency Awareness: While Swiss properties use CHF, border regions may list in EUR. Verify price_unit and currency for accurate comparisons.

Attribute Standardization: Flatfox attributes use specific codes. Maintain mapping dictionary for consistent interpretation across datasets or when merging with other sources.

Conclusion

The Flatfox.ch Property Search Scraper provides essential access to Switzerland's dynamic rental market. From comprehensive pricing intelligence enabling competitive positioning to geographic data powering location analytics, this tool transforms public rental listings into actionable business intelligence. Whether managing real estate portfolios, conducting market research, or building PropTech solutions, structured Swiss rental data drives informed decisions in one of Europe's most valuable property markets. Start extracting Swiss real estate insights today.