immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Zahlen

  • Wave of bankruptcies continues in 2024

    Wave of bankruptcies continues in 2024

    In 2024, 23 companies had to file for bankruptcy every day. That’s around 5500 by August. Forecasts predict more than 8,000 insolvencies by the end of the year, which corresponds to an increase of over 12 per cent compared to previous years. What is particularly striking is that the bankruptcy figures are almost a third higher than in the pre-corona years of 2018 and 2019. However, it is not only the official insolvencies that are causing concern, but also cases in which claims are written off without bankruptcy proceedings being initiated.

    Abusive bankruptcies and challenges
    The statistics also reveal abusive bankruptcies in which controlling bodies such as boards of directors evade their responsibilities or deliberately bring about insolvency in order to secure unlawfully generated profits. In addition, the prospect of a bankruptcy dividend remains sobering for creditors. In 58 per cent of cases, there are insufficient assets, while 40 per cent of proceedings are concluded summarily.

    Affected sectors and prominent cases
    The mechanical engineering and metal industries are particularly hard hit. Traditional companies such as the Kreuzlingen-based metal construction company Neuweiler and Marton AG from Flawil had to file for insolvency in 2024. The reasons include high energy prices, material shortages and weakening demand in international markets. The bankruptcies not only cause financial damage, but also social damage, as many employees lose their jobs.

    Credit checks as a protective measure
    In view of the ongoing uncertainties, it is advisable to check the creditworthiness of business partners, including existing customers, every time a business transaction is concluded. Tools offer quick insights to minimise risks and, in case of doubt, to opt for advance payment. Although losses can never be completely avoided, a solid credit check can make them calculable.

    Start-up boom and young companies at risk
    In parallel to the wave of bankruptcies, there is a start-up boom. In 2024, around 53,000 new companies were entered in the commercial register. However, young companies are particularly susceptible to insolvency in the first five years. Covid-19 after-effects in particular, such as outstanding bridging loans, increase the risk for many of these companies.

    Difficult framework conditions
    Recession fears among trading partners such as Germany and Austria, the strong Swiss franc and geopolitical conflicts are further complicating matters. In Switzerland, overregulation and outstanding government debt are a burden for many companies. However, the introduction of mandatory bankruptcy proceedings for state claims from January 2025 could lead to a market shakeout by weeding out so-called zombie companies.

  • Home prices rise by 1.2% in Q2 2023

    Home prices rise by 1.2% in Q2 2023

    In Q2 2023, both the prices of single-family houses (+0.7%) and those of owner-occupied flats (+1.6%) rose across Switzerland compared with the previous quarter. In the case of single-family houses, prices rose the most in the urban municipalities of a small conurbation or outside a conurbation (+3.4%), while prices in the urban municipalities of a large conurbation and in the intermediate municipalities remained stable. The condominium market segment shows higher prices than in Q1 2023 in all municipality types. The strongest price increase took place in the category of urban municipalities of an intermediate agglomeration (+2.4%). Further information at www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/aktuell

  • Rents in large cities stable to declining – only Zurich with significant increase

    Rents in large cities stable to declining – only Zurich with significant increase

    The Homegate rent index for asking rents is compiled by the real estate marketplace Homegate in cooperation with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). It measures the monthly, quality-adjusted change in rents for new and re-let flats based on current market offers. Compared to the previous month, the index increased by 0.5 points in March and now stands at 120.7 points (plus 0.4 percent). Compared to the previous year, asking rents rose by 2.8 per cent across Switzerland.

    Change in the cities
    Of the eight Swiss cities surveyed, only Zurich saw a significant increase in asking rents in April: Here, advertised rents rose by 1.8 per cent, which is significantly more than the 0.6 per cent increase in the canton of Zurich. In most of the other cities surveyed, however, asking rents remained relatively stable within a range of plus 0.3 per cent in St. Gallen and minus 0.3 per cent in Lausanne. In contrast, asking rents declined significantly in Bern (0.8 per cent) and Lucerne (1.4 per cent). However, the year-on-year comparison shows a positive trend without exception, led by the cities of Zurich (8.2 per cent) and Lugano (6.8 per cent). Only in Lausanne are asking rents unchanged compared to April 2022.

    Change in the cantons
    The picture is different at cantonal level. Here, all but two cantons show a neutral or positive development in asking rents in April. Only in Graubünden did the advertised rents decline by 1.2 per cent, in Lucerne the decline was 0.2 per cent. In all other cantons, advertised rents either remained unchanged or rose by up to 2.4 per cent (Schwyz) last month. In addition to Schwyz, the cantons of Nidwalden (1.4 per cent) and Uri (1.3 per cent) are among those with an above-average increase. While Uri has thus reached a new high since the beginning of the measurement period, the asking rents in Nidwalden were already higher once during a few months in 2022. Looking back over the year, however, there are clear plus signs for asking rents at the cantonal level. All cantons show an increase of between one and six per cent, led by Glarus (6 per cent), Uri (4.7 per cent), Valais (4.5 per cent) and Appenzell (4.3 per cent). But even in the canton of Graubünden, which was the only canton to record a marked decline in asking rents in April, they rose by 2 per cent compared to the previous year.

    Quality adjustment method
    The development of asking rents in Switzerland is corrected for the different quality, location and size of the flats. The advantage of this so-called hedonic method is that the real rental price development for new and re-let flats is shown on Homegate. The Homegate rent index is the oldest quality-adjusted rent index in Switzerland and is considered a reference source for real estate professionals for determining the price of rental properties.