Raiffeisen strengthens real estate research
Raiffeisen wants to step up its real estate market research and also develop its own hedonic price models in the future. "As the market leader in private residential property, Raiffeisen has a wealth of observations in the market," says Chief Economist Martin Neff. "We want to use this knowledge to increase transparency in the market, but also to create an alternative to the existing price series.
On October 1, Raiffeisen presented - as a first step, so to speak - a research paper on the Swiss residential property market, in which the economists conclude that the ongoing boom can be justified on fundamental grounds. Raiffeisen also notes that some real estate prices have taken off and expects corrections. However, these are likely to occur in the course of a soft landing of the entire market, it says.
This soft landing is already foreseeable, as the first signs of saturation are appearing, especially at the socio-demographic level. Another argument in favour of a soft landing is that the sustainability criteria are being strictly adhered to, which creates considerable leeway in the event of a crisis. A massive interest rate shock that would break this safety margin is not possible in the foreseeable future. In addition, the self-regulation of the banks with stricter amortization regulations and the requirement of ten percent hard equity capital is taking effect. Already today, more rental apartments are being produced than owner-occupied apartments. The economists of the Raiffeisen Group therefore consider overcapacities as at the beginning of the real estate crash of the 90s to be out of the question. (ah)
