Lake Geneva region, Gstaad, Switzerland
The housing market in Switzerland is heading for a very
soft landing, with supply reaching the "tail end of
the residential construction boom" and no danger of
a slowdown in housing demand in the near future, says Credit
Suisse in a report on the Swiss real estate market published
Tuesday.
Demand will remain high despite concerns about the economy,
the bank argues, thanks to continuing immigration from
European Union and EFTA countries In 2008, and because
Swiss households will see their income rise in real terms
this year. Income and housing expenditure are closely
linked, with the Swiss traditionally spending 16-18%
of their income on housing.
Construction demand and new permits are falling, but
only gradually: 42,000 new housing units will come onto
the market in 2008. There are variations across the country,
with Geneva remaining one of the tightest markets because
supply has failed to keep up with demand. Overall, single
family homes are reaching the "saturation" point
and are on the market longer, as are apartments with
four or more rooms.
In commercial real estate the country as a whole is
coming out of a period of over-supply of office space,
thanks to new office-based jobs. This hides strong regional
differences, however, with Zurich having 4.6% of its
space available and Geneva, the other main office space
centre, have only 1.1% free.
http://genevalunch.com/2008/03/04/swiss-housing-market-heading-for-very-soft-landing/
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