SAccording to the cantons, the choice during the vote of Lex Weber was more or less sharp. In Valais the initiative was rejected by 73.8%, while it was accepted by 50.6% at the national level. According to Grégoire Schmidt, founder of the eponymous group and member of the executive committee of the Swiss Association of Real Estate Economics (Svit), the shock wave was made in three stages: “The first resulted in the disarray of owners of land who saw the value of their plots collapse overnight.
“The second was a sudden halt in construction with repercussions on businesses and related jobs, continues the promoter. The third was illustrated by a shortage of objects for sale leading to a massive increase in the prices of second homes.
After an excellent 2021 financial year, developers are expressing their fears regarding the multiplication of building permit refusals in certain regions with high tourist potential, caused by the law on second homes (LRS).
Prices increase
Now on the waiting list, mountain apartments at market price do not remain advertised for more than a week; the chalets even less. A situation unimaginable a few years ago for many professionals surveyed, who are facing a shortage of items for sale, resulting in a price increase of 11.5% to 12.7% over the past twelve months. Both for primary and secondary residences, demand – greater from foreigners – was high.
For the Barnes group, turnover in the residential sector soared by 45%. Specializing in exceptional properties, the company has carried out transactions for several tens of millions of francs in the resorts of Verbier and Crans-Montana, negotiating nearly 30,000 francs per square meter in Zermatt.
“The pandemic has been a sales accelerator, and the scarcity of goods coupled with ever-increasing demand explains these figures,” says Frank Casanova, director of Barnes Geneva and Zermatt. “Prices will continue to rise, only slowed down by the rise in interest rates,” adds the professional, stressing that “demand remains strong due to the increase in teleworking possibilities”.
Request for review
A revision of the current law is hoped for by the branch, “because it would restore joint autonomy to the cantons and the municipalities, the only ones capable of apprehending these problems in targeted, measured and fair ways”, estimates the promoter Grégoire Schmidt.
On the side of the Federal Office for Spatial Development, we hope for the end of individual goods: “Secondary residences must now benefit the tourism sector and not remain empty for most of the year (note: cold beds). This involves, for example, the construction of resorts that we would use as holiday homes, ”says the head of the Urbanization and landscape section, Martin Vinzens. “More second homes used as vacation homes means more tourists.”
In 2025, the Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Detec) and the Federal Department for Economic Affairs, Education and Research (Defr) will once once more examine the effects of the LRS and will state the need to revise it… or not. AWP
