Swiss Buying Moratorium Lifted in Valais

At the beginning of 2007, the government in Switzerland placed a ban on foreigners buying property for one year. But buyers interested in the popular Swiss ski resorts will be pleased to hear it’s now been lifted - although there is still a slight sting in the tail. The state council in Valais imposed the one year ban due to an influx of foreign buyers purchasing in resorts such as Verbier, Zermatt and Saas Fee that were causing queues of two years or more for obtaining foreign permits. The queue was so long that many foreign buyers had already signed their purchase contracts and were occupying their property, yet still hadn’t received the permit and weren’t registered as the owner in the land registry records.

Since the ban was imposed in January 2007, the backlog has been reduced. But even though it’s now lifted, the council have decided not to issue so many new permits, which means fewer foreigners can buy here than previously. What’s more, they’re only allocating a certain number of permits to buyers that fall into certain categories.

In 2008, there will be 330 new permits available to the Valais Canton and they will be allocated as follows:

• Fifty per cent (165) will go to projects where the buyer has an obligation to rent out their property through a tour operator, therefore increasing tourist opportunities in the area.
• Forty per cent (66) will be allocated to buyers who are already in the queue; they will have signed a purchase deed in the last two to three years, but hadn’t already received a permit.
• The rest of the 99 remaining permits will go to new buyers wishing to buy second homes and will carry no obligation for them to rent out their property.

An additional new rule prevents notaries from signing the sales deed unless the developer has received a building permit from the Commune and a foreign purchase permit from the Canton. With Canton Valais, you’re also not permitted to resell within 10 years – except in special circumstances, such as illness – which can be rather restrictive for some people.

Swiss property can make a great investment, especially if you’re buying in a ski resort and are considering letting out your property. If you’re interested in buying in the Swiss Alps, then do keep in mind that these rigid restrictions only apply in Valais.
Other areas are much more flexible when it comes to foreign buyers and have more permits available. One example is Villars, which is easily accessible from Geneva Airport, and is a good old round resort.

Simon Malster, managing director of Investors in Property, says, “We’ve always had strong demand for property in Villars as it’s an attractive dual season resort less than 90 minutes from Geneva Airport. As Villars is in Canton Vaud, where foreigners can buy freely today and sell tomorrow, we expect demand and prices to continue to rise.”