Property Market
The problem areas inherent in the parameters for direct investors are briefly addressed below and then explained individually. This list is not exhaustive:
- Demography
- The challenges of migration, an ageing population and sections of the population with an immigrant background
- Lack of transparency of supply and demand
- Who is offering what?
- Internet has led to substantial improvement in transparency
- “Private” offers still lack transparency
- Who is offering what?
- Quality transparency
- What attributes does the property have at present and in the future?
- What uses are feasible at present and in the future?
- Portfolio uncertainty
- Trends in property prices, expenditure and returns?
- Price transparency
- Who is paying how much for what?
- Incomplete range of property investment
- Restricted investment opportunity for part-ownership
- Unsatisfactory market due to transaction costs
- Costs and taxes create transaction barrier
Transactions opportunities do not cover transaction requirements, for historic reasons, for reasons of legal certainty, due to the small-scale and multilingual Swiss market and because foreign investors are slow to recognise the attractive features of the Swiss property market.
The Swiss property market is a very small market with few market participants.
In recent years, supply and demand nevertheless appear to have developed in different directions, depending on the intended use of the properties and the investment opportunity. A distinction may be made between the following categories of real estate:
- Building land
- Residential properties
- Detached houses
- Condominiums
- Multiple dwellings
- Commercial properties (www.gewerbe-immobilie.ch)
- Management properties
- Specialist properties
