immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Baugesuche

  • Federal Council wants to accelerate residential construction

    Federal Council wants to accelerate residential construction

    According to its communication, the Federal Council is examining measures to accelerate residential construction. With its report of 22 April 2026, it is responding to five postulates from the National Council and Council of States. It is part of the federal government’s housing shortage action plan. The Federal Council has instructed the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications to submit a consultation draft by the end of 2026.

    One of these measures should create the legal basis for a national interest in housing construction. Such a legal basis would then take precedence over, for example, the protection of the townscape or listed buildings. The Federal Council is also having the restriction of the right of appeal for private individuals and the admissible complaints examined. In addition, the procedural costs for objections that are proven to be an abuse of rights could be imposed on the objectors, namely if the objection is clearly aimed solely at preventing or delaying a project.

    However, the sovereignty for planning and building authorisation procedures lies with the cantons. The Federal Council can therefore only recommend that they introduce a digital authorisation procedure and set binding deadlines in order to speed up the process. The Federal Council also recommends that planning applications should only be published once they are complete. It also points out that many licensing authorities do not have sufficient staff or expertise to process complex dossiers.

  • Construction activity is declining

    Construction activity is declining

    According to the real estate barometer of Zürcher Kantonalbank ( ZKB ) for the second quarter of 2021, the number of projected apartments in planning applications has decreased by 23 percent compared to 2018. According to the ZKB analysts, this is related to high vacancy rates in peripheral regions, to which investors would have reacted accordingly. In urban centers with low vacancy rates, construction activity is picking up again in some cases, according to the barometer.

    Lausanne and Zurich are cited as examples. In the cantons of Geneva and Basel-Stadt, however, the analysts have observed a decline in construction activity. They attribute this to the high regulatory hurdles typical of urban areas and the scarcity of building land. Overall, however, the analysts state that “new apartments are increasingly being planned where the demand for living space is high”.

    In the canton of Zurich, the desire for one's own four walls, which has been intensified by the pandemic, is further explained in the barometer. According to him, house prices have increased by 5.5 percent over the previous year and 2.9 percent over the previous quarter. At the same time, the analysts see a shrinking of the offers advertised on real estate portals. They explain this with the fact that many properties are marketed by regional brokers or are already sold before construction begins. For this year and the following, the analysts are assuming excess demand in the residential property market across Switzerland.

  • CKW submits a license application for a hydropower plant

    CKW submits a license application for a hydropower plant

    CKW has submitted the concession and building application for the Waldemme small hydropower plant in Flühli LU to the Canton of Lucerne. In the past few months, the project has been revised with the involvement of environmental protection organizations, as CKW writes in a press release. In contrast to the original plan, the Lammschlucht gorge, among other things, is to remain untouched.

    According to CKW's plans, the power plant is to be completed by 2023. It should have an output of 1.4 megawatts and produce around 6.5 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. According to the information, this will cover the needs of around 1,500 four-person households. CKW expects an investment sum of around 13 million francs.

    With the investment, CKW is "making a contribution to a secure and sustainable energy supply" and "taking care of orders for the Lucerne economy", says CKW CEO Martin Schwab. The major part of the order volume will remain in the canton of Lucerne.

    Government Councilor Fabian Peter (FDP) welcomes the project. “The canton of Lucerne must also make its contribution to the energy transition in 2050 and to achieving the climate targets. There is potential for this in the field of renewable energies that should be used and promoted with suitable framework conditions ”, he is quoted in the communication from CKW.

  • Algorithm provides information on building applications

    Algorithm provides information on building applications

    In Switzerland, the publication of planning applications is mandatory. According to smartconext , around 50,000 building applications are published every year. Many construction companies do their own research in order to win new customers. Due to the many different sources, the expenditure of time and money is disproportionately large.

    The Zug-based start-up makes building applications easily accessible to small construction companies with its platform that was launched in June. With technologies such as Robotic Process Automation, existing information on building applications can be automatically recorded from all possible sources. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the data is processed.

    Smartconext is now expanding its platform with a new interface solution. According to a media release , this enables a cross-platform exchange of information. For example, a heat pump manufacturer who is interested in new builds and conversions is only shown building applications that are suitable for him. What is unique is that all information is available in real time.

    "Our mission is to drive the digitization of the construction industry forward," says Dominik Mahn, CEO and founder of smartconext. “We develop solutions that simplify processes, save costs and increase success,” he adds. According to Mahn, the company passes the resulting cost advantage on to customers.

  • Pandemie verzögert Erholung im Schweizer Hochbau

    Pandemie verzögert Erholung im Schweizer Hochbau

    Die Bautätigkeit im Hochbau werde in diesem Jahr um 3,1 Prozent geringer als im Vorjahr ausfallen, prognostiziert BAK Economics in einer Mitteilung zur aktuellen Bauprognose des Wirtschaftsforschungsinstituts. Im kommenden Jahr wird ein weiterer Rückgang um 1,8 Prozent erwartet. Als Begründung weist BAK Economics auf im Jahresvergleich gesunkene Zahlen bei im Bau befindlichen Projekten, Baubewilligungen und Baugesuchen hin. „Diese Indikatoren sprechen dafür, dass sich die Hochbautätigkeit in einem zyklischen Abschwung befindet“, erläutern die Analysten.

    Sie gehen von einem Abschwung in allen Sparten des Hochbaus aus. Dem Wohnbau käme dabei allerdings aufgrund des besonders hohen Anteils eine besondere Rolle zu, heisst es weiter in der Mitteilung. Hier hätten steigende Leerstände zu einem Rückgang der Baubewilligungen seit 2018 geführt.

    Der Betriebsbau werde hingegen vor allem von den Auswirkungen der Pandemie gebremst, da in dieser Sparte Bauprojekte von besonders betroffenen Branchen wie dem Tourismus erfasst werden, erläutern die Analysten. Den Abwärtstrend beim Infrastrukturbau führen sie hingegen eher auf zyklische Effekte zurück.

    Mittelfristig gehen die Analysten von einer wieder steigenden Hochbautätigkeit in allen Sparten und Landesregionen aus. Dem Wohnbau werden dabei schwächere Wachstumsraten als in der Vergangenheit prognostiziert. Gute Perspektiven sehen die Analysten aufgrund gewachsener Bedeutung von Transport- und Logistik für den Lager- und Hallenbau. Regional weisen sie der Region Zürich/Aargau sowie dem Genferseeraum die höchsten Wachstumsperspektiven zu.