No bubble in the Swiss prime property market as prices rise
Prime Swiss property prices have risen 4% on average this year, bucking the global property downturn.
Single-family homes increased by 4.5% in the year from January 2009, and resale rental apartments rose 4.3%, according to figures from the Swiss National Bank. This comes against a backdrop of around 20% depreciation in prime London property year to date, according to estate agent Knight Frank.
Andrew Hawkins, head of international at London-based estate agent Chesterton Humberts, said: "Switzerland didn’t have a price boom, unlike markets such as the UK or Spain."
He added “The continued interest from non-resident foreigners has kept house prices rising at a manageable amount. Also, as the economic crisis hit, locals transferred overseas investments into the more stable local property market, driving prices up at a steady level.”
A pending Swiss law change could spark even more demand, reckons Hawkins.
While Switzerland has traditionally been difficult to buy into because of the federal government’s system of issuing permits, from 2010 each canton will have the power to set its own foreign property laws.
“Giving cantons the responsibility for making their own property acquisition rules is a positive for foreign buyers,” said Hawkins.
“We expect faster transfer times for property titles, making property ownership easier and therefore more desirable, so we expect that prices will continue to steadily increase.”
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