immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: nachfrage

  • Canton of Zurich calls on Federal Council to act

    Canton of Zurich calls on Federal Council to act

    The pressure on the housing market is enormous. Demand is constantly rising, while supply is lagging behind. The canton of Zurich is particularly affected, where construction projects are increasingly being delayed or prevented by appeals. The consequences are rising rents, social tensions and growing political pressure to act. Five cantonal popular initiatives show how much the issue of housing concerns the population.

    Improvements are unnecessarily delayed
    Although new noise protection regulations have already been adopted, their implementation is still a long time coming. The Zurich cantonal government is calling on the Federal Council to bring the changes to the law into force quickly. This is because protection interests must not be allowed to block the expansion of urgently needed living space. A clear legal basis is essential for planning security and accelerated procedures.

    Protection instrument or strategic objection tool?
    The Government Council is particularly critical of the increasing direct application of the federal inventory ISOS, which actually serves to protect important sites. However, the inventory is increasingly being used to object to new construction projects. With serious consequences for inner densification. This problem is already very noticeable in Zurich, but it is increasingly spreading to other cantons.

    Although the cantonal government supports the announced round table on the ISOS issue, it is calling for concrete and timely solutions that must be developed together with the federal government, cantons and municipalities.

    Call for political prioritisation
    According to the cantonal government, the provision of housing is a key concern for the population and the economy. The federal government must strike a new balance between protection interests and structural development so that urgently needed housing construction is not blocked any further. The responsibility for this now lies with the relevant federal authorities.

  • Key interest rate trend revives property market

    Key interest rate trend revives property market

    The Swiss property market continues to prove resilient despite challenges, CSL Immobilien explains in a press release accompanying its 2025 property market report. Macroeconomic uncertainties and increasing regulatory requirements are cited as such. On the other hand, the gradual reduction in key interest rates by the Swiss National Bank had a positive effect on market dynamics.

    In the rental property market, CSL Immobilien continued to see strong demand in the past year with a shortage of supply. As a result, asking rents rose significantly faster than existing rents and the vacancy rate fell to a record low, according to the press release. Due to the particularly sharp rise in asking rents in cities such as Zurich and Geneva, households are increasingly moving to urban centres with good transport links.

    Prices for residential property also continued to rise last year. According to CSL Immobilien’s surveys, prices in the Zurich economic area rose particularly sharply.

    The office market developed differently in 2024. The supply of available space in the conurbations increased, while rental prices in the periphery fell. In the city centres, on the other hand, rents rose as the supply of space continued to fall. In general, there was increased demand for ESG-compliant office space and flexible utilisation concepts.

    CSL Immobilien anticipates moderate but solid further growth for the current year. “Investors who remain agile and adapt their strategies will be able to successfully capitalise on opportunities in 2025,” Thomas Walter, CEO of CSL Immobilien, is quoted as saying in the press release.

  • Despite all headwinds: demand for single-family homes remains robust

    Despite all headwinds: demand for single-family homes remains robust

    The volume of advertisements for single-family homes, which declined by 17 per cent in the previous period (Q3 2021 – Q2 2022), recovered in the current period (Q3 2022 – Q2 2023) with eleven per cent growth. At the same time, the average tendering time also increased from 60 to 66 days to the same extent. Despite the strongest increase in mortgage interest rates in the last 30 years, demand for single-family homes proved to be quite robust in the reporting period. This is shown by the current online home market analysis of the real estate portals Homegate and ImmoScout24 in cooperation with the Swiss Homeowners’ Association and the Swiss Real Estate Institute based on the evaluated advertisements of several well-known real estate portals.

    For Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, the results of the current study once again show how robust the single-family home market in Switzerland is overall, despite the significant rise in mortgage rates. “The increased supply and the longer listing period are giving searchers more choice and more time to think, as well as a better overall chance of finding the right property,” says Waeber. However, the best offer is of little use if the question of financing becomes increasingly challenging, Waeber comments on the new analysis.

    Listing duration up in many places, demand down
    The biggest changes in listing duration were seen in the eight regions of northwestern Switzerland (plus 51 per cent) and central Switzerland (plus 48 per cent). And even in the “hotspots” of Zurich and central Switzerland, sellers with a listing period need more patience than before to sell a single-family home. In French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, on the other hand, the listing period remained at practically the same level as in the previous period. Nevertheless, in Ticino, with a new average of 136 days, it takes more than three times as long to find a buyer as in the Zurich region with a new average of 42 days.

    The combination of the change in the duration of the advertisements and the number of advertisements allows conclusions to be drawn about the development of demand. Although demand in Switzerland as a whole has remained robust, there are considerable differences between the eight regions analysed. The regions of eastern and northwestern Switzerland in particular suffered the greatest slumps in demand. In the region of eastern Switzerland, for example, sellers had to advertise their single-family homes 9 days longer than before (plus 21 per cent). At the same time, almost the same number of single-family homes were advertised as in the previous period (minus 1 per cent).

    Rising demand primarily in high-income municipalities
    A closer look at the different types of municipalities also shows that demand for owner-occupied homes is rising in six out of eight regions in the high-income municipalities, while it is declining in the majority of suburban municipalities. This majority decline could be related, among other things, to a comparatively higher share of debt financing in these municipalities. Therefore, a rise in interest rates hits these municipalities harder than the high-income municipalities, where, for example, less debt capital is required for the purchase of a home thanks to advance inheritance and thus also less debt-financed funds.

    Peter Ilg, head of the Swiss Real Estate Institute, which analysed the data, draws the following conclusion: “Perhaps the risk of a real estate bubble was simply overestimated in the past. While in comparable countries such as Sweden home prices have already corrected noticeably due to the interest rate hikes, in Switzerland there is still no sign of a weakening in the demand for single-family homes. And this despite the fact that the mortgage debt of Swiss households is among the highest in the world, at 140 percent of total economic output in 2020, Ilg concludes.

    About     the Online Home Market Analysis
     The Online Home Market Analysis is a semi-annual analysis that looks at the market for condominiums and single-family homes on an alternating basis. With the eight major regions analysed, it covers the whole of Switzerland and at the same time provides information on the development of supply and demand for owner-occupied homes, differentiated by region and broken down by market segment.

    Homegate and ImmoScout24 as well as the Swiss Homeowners Association publish the analysis in collaboration with the Swiss Real Estate Institute of the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich. The latest edition analyses single-family home listings for the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, which originate from several well-known real estate portals and thus comprise the majority of all online listings during the study period in Switzerland.

    Here you can find the complete media release on the current Online Home Market Analysis, including further graphics and detailed reports on the individual regions.

  • Build faster – thanks to virtual reality

    Build faster – thanks to virtual reality

    One of the main reasons for the decline in construction activity is the complex and lengthy approval procedures. According to the ZKB study, it takes an average of 140 days from planning application to building permit in the country, which is 67 percent more than in 2010. It takes even longer in densely populated areas in particular: 500 days in the canton of Geneva and 330 days in the canton of Zurich, with this figure more than doubling since 2010. The increase in appeals and objections also lead to delays and blocked projects.

    To solve these problems, the globally unique virtual reality (VR) solution from the Swiss PropTech company HEGIAS helps. Communication between the various stakeholders is improved through the use of VR, as all parties involved see and thus understand the same thing. Also, the imagination is less challenged by the authorities, and thus more correct urban planning decisions can be made.

    Build faster, cheaper and more sustainably
    With the immersive solution, complex approval procedures can be reduced, as authorities and politicians can view the planned buildings from any perspective and at any time of day throughout the year in a realistic VR environment. This saves time, money and reduces the need for expensive and environmentally harmful façade samples or elaborate physical architectural models as well as 1:1 mock-ups.

    HEGIAS VR also facilitates and speeds up the assessment of listed buildings, as for example HEGIAS VR was successfully used by Implenia in the Lokstadt in Winterthur. The VR models can also show neighbours how shadows cast or the position of the sun would affect their property at any time of day throughout the year. VR thus enables faster, cheaper and more sustainable construction.

    More info: www.hegias.com

  • Selling a condominium? Top in the agglomeration, patience in the countryside

    Selling a condominium? Top in the agglomeration, patience in the countryside

    The latest edition of the Online Home Market Analysis by the real estate portals Homegate and ImmoScout24 in collaboration with the Swiss Real Estate Institute (SwissREI) analyses the listing data for condominiums for the year 2022. The listings analysed come from several large real estate portals in Switzerland and thus comprise the majority of all online listings for the period under review.

    Number and duration of listings declines
    While the listing duration of condominiums remained above 80 days during the Covid19 pandemic, it has now declined again by eight days to 77 days nationwide for 2022. At the same time, there was a five-percent decrease in supply to a good 70,000 properties. The combination of these two values shows that, viewed across Switzerland as a whole, demand for condominiums has increased in 2022.

    For Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, the results of the current analysis show the robustness of the Swiss real estate market: “Home ownership is and will remain a sought-after but limited commodity in Switzerland. For despite significantly higher financing costs, condominiums sold faster again last year than in the previous year”. With the exception of the regions of Ticino and Geneva, the length of time for which condominiums are held has shortened, in some cases significantly, in the majority of the regions surveyed. “On the one hand, this shows the continuing and even increased demand for condominiums. On the other hand, real estate platforms such as Homegate and ImmoScout24 are the best possible way to avoid missing out on offers in a highly competitive market and to maintain an often time-critical lead,” Waeber continues.

    Listing times in the regions are levelling out – except in Ticino
    Looking at the individual regions of Switzerland, the range in listing times has narrowed over the past year. In other words, the Swiss real estate market is becoming more balanced in terms of condominium sales. Condominiums continued to sell fastest in the Zurich region, namely within 43 days. This value remained unchanged compared to 2021. In six other regions, the time it took to put an apartment up for sale fell by between five and 17 per cent. The situation is different in Geneva, where the average listing time increased slightly by just under two per cent. Ticino continues to be decoupled from the other regions. Here, the already longest duration of listings increased by another seven per cent last year.

    Almost nationwide increase in demand for condominiums
    The combination of changes in the duration of listings and the number of listings allows conclusions to be drawn about demand in Switzerland as a whole and in the individual regions. In the Zurich region, for example, a 13-percent increase in the number of advertisements was registered compared to the previous year. Since, despite this increase in supply, the duration of listings in Zurich did not increase to the same extent – but on the contrary remained unchanged between 2021 and 2022 – an increased demand for condominiums in this region can be deduced from this.

    With one exception – Ticino – the same picture emerges for the remaining regions of Switzerland: for 2022, they all record a combination of housing duration and number of units, which places them in the area of increasing demand. In Ticino, on the other hand, condominiums had to be advertised for nine days longer last year with an almost unchanged supply until sale. It can therefore be concluded that demand is decreasing in this region.

    Agglomerations clearly stronger in trend than rural communities
    Differences in the demand for condominiums are not only evident with regard to the regions, but a clear picture also emerges when comparing the types of communities: while in the communities in the first agglomeration belt (“suburban communities”) seven of the eight regions examined show an increased demand for residential property, in contrast, a weakening demand was frequently observed in the “rural commuter communities”. The rural communities in the regions of Espace Mittelland and Ticino suffered a particularly strong decline in demand. On the other hand, demand only increased in Zurich and central Switzerland. The situation is completely different in the suburban municipalities: here it is only Ticino where demand declined slightly, even in the agglomeration.

    For Peter Ilg, head of the Swiss Real Estate Institute, it is astonishing how quickly the real estate markets have developed “back to normal” after the Covid19 pandemic: “During the pandemic it was often claimed that an irreversible trend towards a new world of work had begun. Just one year later, we see that this is hardly the case. Home office is already being significantly reduced again in most, especially smaller, companies. This is also reflected in the change in demand for condominiums: rural communities are once again less in demand, while those around the centres are once again much more in demand.”

    Source: https://swissmarketplace.group/de/

  • Housing is becoming noticeably more expensive for everyone

    Housing is becoming noticeably more expensive for everyone

    The increased interest burden has so far had no effect on the demand for one's own four walls. According to a press release on immoscout24.ch , those interested in buying their own homes are “still in a buying mood”. The data presented there is based on the Real Estate Offer Index . It is collected by the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group in cooperation with the real estate consulting company IAZI . Immoscout24.ch is an SMG marketplace.

    According to this, the price expectations on the supplier side have not reduced despite the increase in the key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points. Detached houses cost 2 percent more, condominiums were advertised within a month at 0.7 percent higher prices. "With the increased interest burden and the general increase in costs for maintenance and investments, living in your own home is becoming noticeably more expensive," Martin Waeber is quoted as saying by SMG. Accordingly, a slowdown in price development is likely.

    Advertised rental prices also increased slightly last month by 0.3 percent. In addition, the significantly higher oil and gas prices would lead to "significantly higher expenses".

    Demand for investment properties could fall among institutional investors. This may result in reduced construction activity and thus a shortage in the supply of rental apartments. It remains to be seen how asking rents will develop in the long term.

  • Excellent supply chain management enables Belimo to achieve double-digit sales growth

    Excellent supply chain management enables Belimo to achieve double-digit sales growth

    Overall, Belimo increased its net sales in local currencies by 16.6 percent. In Swiss francs, net sales increased by 15.7 percent to CHF 765.3 million. The positive market development ensured increased demand, especially in Europe and America. Sales growth in local currencies was 15.9 percent for the Europe market region and 18.1 percent for America. In the Asia Pacific market region, the increase was 14.4 percent. Air applications net sales grew by 15.5 percent in local currencies and water applications by 17.9 percent.

    capacity expansions
    The strong growth in 2021 accelerates the capacity expansion planned as part of the Belimo growth strategy. The group will expand its capacities in production, logistics and customization over the next few years with higher investments in all market regions. Corresponding projects have already been initiated in 2021:

    • In the market region Europe, Belimo has signed a contract to purchase a plot of land next to the existing building in Hinwil (Switzerland) in order to accommodate expansions in logistics and customizing.
    • In the Americas market region, logistics capacities were expanded at the Danbury site (USA) in order to create space for future growth and to continue to guarantee high delivery reliability.
    • In the Asia Pacific market region, Belimo has purchased its existing location in Shanghai (China) in order to provide additional capacity and space for warehousing, customizing, logistics and offices
  • Swiss office market: pandemic is leaving its first traces

    Swiss office market: pandemic is leaving its first traces

    While the advertised space in London and New York skyrocketed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the space available in Switzerland increased only moderately at the end of the 2nd quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, from 5.5% to 5.8%. Although the uncertainties about the future need for office space are still very high for many tenants, a number of lease extensions and new contracts have been observed on the market – mostly for the purpose of optimizing or concentrating the location.

    Reluctant demand for office space
    The usually close link between the growth of office work and the demand for office space has decoupled during the pandemic. Despite a relatively robust development in office employment, many customers were reluctant to rent new space, especially since coping with the pandemic is dragging on and the trend towards home offices is consequently becoming entrenched. The demand for space is likely to suffer in the next few years from the fact that more and more companies are enabling their employees to partially work from home, even after COVID-19. The real estate economists at Credit Suisse still consider last year’s forecast, according to which the corona-induced breakthrough in home offices to reduce the need for office space by around 15% in the medium term, as a good benchmark. However, economic growth and the increasing proportion of office work due to the digitization effect are counter-trends, which is why real estate economists expect demand for office space to stagnate in the medium term.

    The supply of space is increasing again – but less than expected
    As a direct consequence of the sluggish demand, the office space advertised for rent is currently increasing again in all regional sub-markets without exception. In the office markets of the major centers, the supply in absolute numbers increases most strongly in the agglomeration communities around the central cities (outer office markets). In percentage terms, however, the supply has increased most in the city centers. Higher supply rates can be observed above all in those sub-markets that are currently recording a high level of space access. For example, the increased construction activity in Basel is making a significant contribution to the increase in the available space at the knee of the Rhine. In contrast, the comparatively intact market situation on the Zurich office market is closely related to the low level of construction activity. The comparison between Lausanne and Geneva is interesting: While weak demand was responsible for the increase in the supply of space to 12.3% in the city on the Rhone, Lausanne benefited from relatively robust demand despite higher construction activity, so that the supply of space here increased significantly less.

    Investors are planning less office space
    In the past twelve months, building permits for office space with an investment volume of CHF 1,598 million have been granted. This is around 17% below the long-term average since 1995. Investors have become more cautious about investing in office buildings and are holding back on new projects as long as the uncertainty regarding future space requirements is not cleared up. In a long-term comparison, the amounts approved for office renovations remain at a low level. In most cases, replacement new buildings are preferred to renovations today. Conversions in apartments, which are increasingly being considered – especially in the Bern office market – are not included in these figures. This reluctance on the part of investors should help ensure that most office markets are unlikely to develop too large imbalances over the next few quarters.

    Home office only slows down space requirements temporarily
    Based on a study commissioned by two federal offices on industry developments up to 2060, the real estate economists at Credit Suisse derive the development of office employment up to 2060 and use this to forecast long-term demand for office space. Current trends such as employment growth, the digitization of many work areas, but also the trend towards home offices are developing in the opposite direction. While home office reduces space requirements in the medium term, the increasing digitization of all areas of life and work is increasing the office quotas – i.e. the proportion of employees with an office workstation – in all industries and thus generating a large need for additional office space in the long term. Between 2000 and 2019, the average office rate in Switzerland climbed from 34% to 45%. According to the modeling, it should increase further to 60% by 2060. Over time, this effect is likely to overshadow the trend towards home offices, which is reducing space, and generate significant additional demand for office space in the long term.

    Immediate view streaked through
    In the short term, there are two opposing developments that are having an impact on the demand for office space. On the one hand, the absorption of space is likely to continue to be resinous, despite stronger employment growth, and to lag behind the usual level. A further increase in the supply of space is therefore possible, especially as there have only been a few cases of large-scale abandonment or reductions in space due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, such dismantling plans exist. On the other hand, a certain amount of demand is likely to have built up. The real estate economists at Credit Suisse are forecasting a renewed increase in supply, particularly for large and peripheral spaces. They also expect a further increase in vacancies next year and ongoing pressure on rental prices, which could be a little higher than the current minus of 0.1%.

    Figure: Expansion and supply in the large and medium-sized centers
    Circumference: stock of office space; Expansion: building permits for the last four years compared to the long-term average; Supply quota in% of the 2018 portfolio

    The full study on “Swiss office space market 2022” is available in German here .

  • Demand for condominiums is stronger than before Corona

    Demand for condominiums is stronger than before Corona

    According to a report on the Online Home Market Analysis, the demand for condominiums declined slightly overall from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the end of the third quarter of 2020 in the reporting year, but saw a strong surge in demand in the last quarter. In the analysis carried out by the Swiss Real Estate Institute of the Zurich School of Economics ( HWZ ) and the Swiss Association of the Real Estate Industry ( SVIT ) in collaboration with the digital real estate company homegate.ch , this is based on the shorter advertising period for condominiums offered on the Internet.

    During the entire reporting year, a condominium in Switzerland had to be advertised on an online platform for an average of 86 days. It was 60 days before the Corona crisis. In the third quarter of 2020, however, the advertising time fell to the record low of 52 days, despite an 8 percent increase in the number of advertisements. Condominiums are therefore currently more in demand than ever, the analysis found.

    Supply and demand were analyzed based on the advertisements on the seven major Swiss real estate marketplaces between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020 compared to the previous period. In the reporting period from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020, around 91,387 condominiums were offered for sale on the Internet across Switzerland, which corresponds to an increase of 19 percent compared to the previous period.

    Professor Peter Ilg, head of the Swiss Real Estate Institute at HWZ, attributes the growth in demand mainly to two factors: “On the one hand, the boom in demand in the third quarter is due to the deferred demand from the previous quarters, but on the other hand it is also due to a change in behavior: More beautiful living is has become even more important to many Swiss after the lockdown, ”Ilg is quoted as saying.

    Jens Paul Berndt, CEO of Homegate AG, is quoted as saying: “We have also noticed a sharp increase in visits and contact inquiries. This is a sign that real estate is a popular investment property even in times of crisis. "