We resume our Buyer Guide series with a look at

Switzerland, which we last covered in late July when news of the repeal of Lex Koller was announced.

Where to Look

Although only a small country and, moreover, one that has a highly defined identity in public consciousness,

Switzerland does offer a number different themes for the investor/visitor. For skiers the choice of property may be decided by the appeal of particular resorts or concerns about the effects of global warming on lower altitude ski slopes. This is likely to increase the popularity of the most mountainous cantons, such as Graubunden (Grisons) or Valais. For other investors the choice may be a matter linguistic skills deciding whether they opt for a French-, German- or Italian-speaking district.

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Swiss Chalets in Zermatt [Photo credits to Nelson Minar on Flickr]
Although the abolition of Switzerland’s Lex Koller, a federal measure restricting property purchases by non-nationals, could have a sudden impact on property prices and development in the more popular resort areas of the country, the federal authorities have allowed the cantons and communes a three year grace period to get to grips with the new situation; effectively Lex Koller will not be completely dead until 2010 (also read Credit Suisse’s view on its abolition). Existing restrictions on foreign companies owning or developing property will remain in place but the government did appear to make an exception for Samih Sawiris’s resort development at Andermatt.
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