Foreigners snap up swiss property

With average house prices nearing 800,000 francs, the Swiss residential real-estate market continues to boom. Market participants say there is no end in sight as cash-rich Europeans and Russians keen to protect their assets fuel demand.

"I'm getting calls from Greek investors almost every day who want to buy a house here," says Robert Ferfecki, managing director for Sotheby's International Realty Inc. in Zurich, who is selling luxury homes in the German-speaking areas of Switzerland, including Zurich and Lucerne.

"Had Switzerland no restrictive property laws that limit what foreigners can buy, I would probably be able to sell my portfolio within a week," Mr. Ferfecki says, noting that Germans and Britons are the top buyers.

Unlike property markets in the U.S. and many European countries, which are still smarting from the 2008 housing collapse, prices for all categories of Swiss real estate have risen steadily over the past three years, according to consultancy Wuest & Partner AG.

Source: The Wall Street Journal