Foreign real estate is becoming more attractive
Swiss real estate investors are realigning their portfolios. Residential and logistics properties are in greater demand, and interest in retail properties is declining. In addition, the attractiveness of foreign real estate is increasing. This is the result of a study by EY and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
The majority of the companies active in the real estate market did not allow their risk behavior to be adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, writes EY Switzerland in a report on the current “ Asset Management Survey ”. For the study, EY Switzerland and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts examined the activities of 52 Swiss real estate investors and pension funds. According to the results, most of the respondents intend to continue investing in domestic and increasingly also in foreign real estate in the future.
"The pandemic has hardly any noticeable impact on the general demand from investors for real estate investments that remain without alternative in the low interest rate environment and especially in uncertain times," Karl Frank Meinzer, Head of Real Estate at EY Switzerland, is quoted in the press release. According to Casper Studer, however, the focus of investments has shifted to more pandemic-resistant properties. "This is particularly true of properties that are used for living and logistics," explains the real estate expert at EY Switzerland. According to the surveys of the analysts, around seven out of ten respondents also play a medium to large role in investment decisions.
The concentration on residential and logistics real estate goes hand in hand with the increasing attractiveness of foreign real estate. More than six out of ten companies surveyed are planning to increase investments in foreign residential real estate; the figure for domestic residential real estate is 51 percent, according to the press release. 46 percent are interested in logistics properties abroad, and a third of those surveyed want to invest more in domestic logistics properties. On the other hand, 36 and 27 percent of those surveyed want to reduce their portfolio of retail properties in Germany and abroad.