Isn’t that the reverse?
Not sure about the non-resident EU part, I inferred it from the comments, not from the text.* But the text makes it clear that they want to make it harder for the Swiss residents to buy their own home, which is an alarming trend…
I was pleasantly surprised when I moved here over a decade ago how for most purposes residents were treated equally to citizens, but this is fading away. A few months ago a friend (an ETH researcher living here 5+ years) got his bank account blocked due to permit renewal (which was delayed by the canton, not his wrongdoing). Now this. Even if it gets killed (I hope it will!) it’s going to leave a bad aftertaste…
(*) I can easily believe it, thought, given that in some areas an EU passport already buys more rights (in Switzerland) than the Swiss citizens themselves have.
Permanent resident can buy similarly to swiss citizens.
For other (non UE) residents there are already restrictions. They would be tightened but buying as a primary residence would still be allowed (you’d have to sell if you move).
Note that permanent residency can be acquired in 5y.
In any case, given that the proposal is in response to the 10M Initiative, restricting foreigner was very much a goal. (And since it’s a reaction to the Initiative, it’s mostly political and unlikely to move forward, I’d start caring if it passes in one of the parliamentary chambers, not even sure it will even be scheduled)
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I’m looking for an immo ETF in Switzerland, the SRFCHA. What do you think?
SRFCHA is a fund of funds, it invests in real estate funds and real estate shares. Its largest holdings are other Swiss real estate funds, so inherently it is more diversified than any of these individually. This results in very low volatility and “index performance”.
The TER of SRFCHA itself is low (0.25%) for a real estate fund, but it owns the other funds that have their own (higher) TER and their agio.
Also, ictax shows dividend and tax value at about 10-20% of the market values. That means it does include some “direct property ownership” and the associated tax benefits, but not as much as “pure real estate funds with direct property ownership” (that have dividend and tax values much closer to zero).
It is an option if wishing a single real estate fund providing broad market exposure and performance. But personally I preferred buying a mix of funds with direct ownership.
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