Homeownership prices are rising sharply
In the new edition of "Immobilien aktuell", Zürcher Kantonalbank noted a significant rise in home ownership prices of 5 percent. In addition, she observes that the residential area is gaining in importance as a result of the Corona crisis.
In 2020, home ownership prices rose by 5 percent across Switzerland and by 4 percent in the canton of Zurich. Ursina Kubli, Head of Real Estate Research at Zürcher Kantonalbank ( ZKB ), sees one reason for this in the low mortgage interest rates. They are an important financial incentive to buy your own home, she is quoted in a ZKB press release , which summarizes the current issue of the ZKB specialist magazine " Immobilien aktuell ". On the other hand, the supply is scarce, "because the construction industry is still concentrating on rental apartments, while many older people willing to sell are hesitant to sell them." And thirdly, the personal living situation has become increasingly important in the pandemic.
Despite the precarious economic situation and the corresponding uncertain prospects for the labor market, there are still many willing to buy when there is a shortage of supply. This allows the conclusion that the wage segments relevant for the home sector have so far been little affected by the economic slowdown.
Because people over the age of 60 currently own more than half of all single-family houses and condominiums and even more than 80 percent of multi-family houses in the canton of Zurich, the ZKB expects an additional supply on the real estate market in the coming years and decades. Gaining more living space by reallocating vacant office space is attractive, but often proves to be a "resinous niche strategy" due to regulatory hurdles.
As a result of the pandemic, the micro-location of a property is becoming increasingly important. Sunlight is one of the most important factors. Thanks to extensive computing power at 100 million geographical points, the ZKB real estate research team succeeded for the first time in evaluating the actual duration of sunshine at a wide variety of places. One result: the city of Zurich is clearly surpassed by other Swiss cities in the winter months.