According to reinsurer, Swiss Re, over three quarters of private buildings in Switzerland have no earthquake coverage. Because earthquakes are rare and are quickly forgotten, public risk perception is low. Even Switzerland, with its well developed insurance culture is no exception. Swiss Re describes Switzerland as a country with a medium seismic hazard. The strongest […]
Earthquake risk in Switzerland is real says geologist
24 Heures. After the tragic earthquake in Italy, some are wondering if something similar could happen in Switzerland. Speaking to the newspaper 24 Heures, geologist Raphaël Mayoraz, says “People tend to forget, but our country has already experienced earthquakes of 6 or more.” The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich completed ten years of […]
UBS says Switzerland still at risk of real-estate bubble
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Risks to the Swiss property market remained elevated in the second quarter of 2016, with rock-bottom interest rates propping up demand for residential assets to be rented out for investment purposes. Still, UBS Group AG’s index experienced a “slight” decrease in the period, according to economists Matthias Holzhey and […]
Swiss rents drop in July
Rents across Switzerland dropped in July according to real estate website Homegate.ch. Since the index started in January 2009, average rents across the country had risen by 13.9% over the 7 and a half years up to the end of June 2016. By the end of July the total increase was 13.7%, a drop of […]
Tax breaks for Swiss home owners should be reduced, say experts
20 Minutes. A recently released report, put together by a group of experts, proposes measures to dissuade people in Switzerland maintaining high levels of debt, in particular home mortgages. The report says the current system encourages individuals to maintain unhealthy levels of debt. The level of home mortgage debt in Switzerland is very high by international standards and has […]
Swiss architect takes client to court to stop home alteration
24 Heures. In 2011, the owners of a home designed by EPFL trained Swiss architect Vincent Mangeat, decided to make some alterations. The modernist masterpiece has a large open terrace at the front, and the owners decided to close the opening to keep out the weather and reduce noise from the nearby road. The proposed change drawn up by another […]
Swiss property prices set to decline this year says report
Tribune de Genève. According to construction and property market consultants, Wüest & Partner, the Swiss housing market, for both renting and buying, should ease by 0.3% in 2016. In French-speaking Switzerland the declines should be higher with declines of 0.6% predicted in the Lake Geneva region and a fall of 2.1% expected in Valais. For the […]
How buying a house has become beyond the reach of most Swiss
20 Minutes. A couple with an annual income of CHF 100,000 won’t find anything in 65% of Swiss communes according to the newspaper. After looking at 800,000 property advertisements on the website Homegate, 20 Minuten calculated an average home price increase of 36% between 2002 and 2015, far more than the 15% rise in salaries between 2002 […]
No relief for Swiss renters despite falling interest rates
Every three months the rate of interest used to set Swiss rents is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. Unlike on 2 June 2015, when it was reduced from 2.00% to 1.75%, giving many a chance to reduce their rent, on 2 March 2016, it was left at 1.75% […]
Swiss real estate heads further towards bubble territory
Last week UBS released its real estate bubble index for the last quarter of 2015. According to the bank, the risk moved from 1.34 in Q3 2015, to finish the year at 1.41. Anything over 1.0 is considered risky and anything beyond 2.0 is bubble territory. Before property prices crashed in the 1990s, the index rose […]
