New UBS becomes biggest host in Switzerland

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

Until a few years ago, most Swiss residential buildings were still owned by private owners. Today, most rental properties are in the hands of large corporations. While banks, funds, insurance companies, investment trusts and pension funds and SBB have made large investments in concrete gold in recent years, private individuals have increasingly withdrawn.

Until recently, Swiss Life was the largest property owner in Switzerland. The insurance group has been investing more and more in investment properties, including many residential buildings, in recent years. Swiss Life bought more than 100 properties between 2016 and 2021 in the city of Zurich alone! The group currently has about 39,000 apartments. This is illustrated by figures from real estate agent Wüest Partner, available only to Blick.

A new number…

However, with the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, Switzerland now has a new Superbank, making it also the largest host in Switzerland. To date, UBS has about 37,000 apartments. These figures take into account all real estate that the bank holds in real estate funds and investment institutions. According to the annual report, CS has 35,317 flats in its portfolio with real estate funds and real estate investment groups.

Some properties are part of the Credit Suisse Investment Foundation (CSA). The foundation is used for professional retirement and is legally independent of the group. Therefore, it is not directly affected by the merger. But even if not all properties are transferred to UBS, one thing is clear: the takeover will result in a new number one in the Swiss property market.

… but not a superpower

Superbank is likely to have a little over 60,000 rental flats. This makes them the biggest player on the market, but not a superpower. Because the bank owns about 3 percent of the entire Swiss real estate market.

Experts see no danger in this: “The new player has no market dominance,” says Robert Weinert (44), Head of Property Monitoring at Wüest Partner. It doesn’t matter if the flat belongs to CS or UBS. “The takeover will have no consequences for the tenants,” Weinert says.

Tenants’ association calls for action

The tenants’ association looks at things differently. “It’s a problem that global, joint stock capital – owns so many properties, whether owned by CS or UBS,” says Jacqueline Badran (61), member of the association’s board of directors and Zurich SP national assembly member. “Institutional investors get inflated returns with this type of real estate investment, people have to pay with their hard-earned income,” he says. That’s why the politician demands priority for municipalities and cantons.

Figures from the Federal Statistical Office show the extent of the shift to yield-oriented investors in the real estate market in recent years: the proportion of institutional investors in residential real estate rose from 20.8 percent to 56.3 percent between 1946 and 2021. These include banks, real estate companies, public limited companies, insurance companies, pension funds and construction companies.

At the same time, the proportion of private owners, public sector and housing cooperatives fell from 79.2 percent to 43.7 percent.

Source :Blick