SVIT Swiss Real Estate Forum 2022 – focus on digitization, disruption and flood of data
This year's forum of the Swiss Real Estate Association SVIT took place on June 23rd and 24th in the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. In addition to around 200 industry representatives, there were also some actors from politics, business and show business.
After the official SVIT delegates’ meeting on Thursday morning, the strategy and innovation consultant Maks Giordano gave a lecture in the conference room of the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. He showed what happens and how one can react “when the future comes in exponential steps”. Giordano is convinced that after mobile communications and the World Wide Web, our industries are now being fundamentally changed again by the third wave of digital disruption and its exponential developments in technology. “In these times of hyper-innovation and hyper-growth, it is imperative that we all learn the necessary skills to manage this change,” he said.
Comedy and political gossip
Afterwards, comedian Kaya Yanar offered a “best of” of his previous work in the television and comedy scene, before the first panel discussion took place in the afternoon. SVIT Forum moderator Urs Gredig welcomed the politicians Hans Egloff (SVP, President HEV Switzerland) and Michael Töngi (Greens, Vice President of the Swiss Tenants’ Association) as well as Martin Tschirren , Director of the BWO Federal Office for Housing, on stage. Together they analyzed the current political and social mood with regard to a possible total revision of Swiss tenancy law, which dates back to 1990. In general, given the majority in the National Council, they only consider minor changes to be possible, even if Egloff and Töngi demanded fundamental modifications and partial revisions. Federal Office Director Tschirren pointed out that the housing shortage is threatening to worsen in the period ahead. This is primarily to be seen in the large cities and centers.
The Federal Council sees a need for action on rents
At the end of the first day of the SVIT Forum 2022, Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin , Head of the Federal Department of Economics, Education and Research and President of the Swiss Confederation in 2021, addressed a message of welcome to the SVIT delegates and guests. He emphasized the new meaning for living as a result of the corona pandemic. In view of home office and video conferencing from home, office workers in particular have now given more thought to their living situation. Today it is important to react to sharply rising housing and energy prices. In addition, the home ownership rate in Switzerland is again in reverse gear: While it was still 38.4 percent in 2015, it was only 36.4 percent in 2019, Parmelin quoted from the figures from the BFS and the Federal Office for Housing. He sees a “certain need for action” when it comes to structuring rents. Specifically, he was in a possible review of the site and neighborhood customary. There will soon be a group of experts to deal with this topic. Regarding the latest developments on the interest side, Parmelin said: “The Swiss National Bank is getting back to normal.”
Boat ride and roller coaster
The first day of the event was rounded off with a boat trip on Lake Lucerne on the MS Diamant. The second day of the SVIT Forum 2022 on Friday began with an impressive keynote speech by the former AMD boss and current start-up investor Carsten Maschmeyer , who described the ups and downs of his business career and shared his “success formula through opportunities and crises for a fulfilled life» revealed.
Data rights of digitized service providers
The second panel discussion, moderated by “Immobilia” editor Ivo Cathomen , dealt with the future of real estate service providers. He had invited Oliver Hofmann , CEO of Wincasa AG, Béatrice Schaeppi , head of the family company of the same name, and Severin Krebs , managing director of Pfannenstiel Immobilien AG, to the podium. The three company leaders described how digitization influences and determines the work of the manager in many ways today. They identified data sovereignty and data protection as well as the satisfaction of different customer needs and the recruitment of specialist staff as the most important construction sites for services in the real estate industry.
The SVIT Swiss Real Estate Forum 2022 ended on Friday afternoon in the Verkehrshaus Luzern with a farewell by SVIT President Andreas Ingold and finally with a Thai stand-up lunch in the foyer, while the first major thunderstorm of the day fell outside.