We present a comparative study of perceptions concerning the environmental quality of residential real estate in Switzerland based on empirical data collected in three different linguistic regions. Responses by homeowners in the Geneva, Zurich and Lugano areas to questionnaires involving pairwise preference criteria are analysed in the framework of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Eight different environmental quality criteria are used and responses are categorised in terms of indicators concerning the personal situation of the homeowner. The result show that environmental preference levels across the three cities are in the 7-18% range. It appears that perceptions are similar for four of the eight criteria, whereas notable differences exist for the other criteria. Some possible interpretations of these results are given. Finally, possible extensions to this study are discussed, in particular how the approach could be integrated in a more detailed spatial analysis of socio-economic data in the framework of geographic information systems