Located in Switzerland, and specializing in the Glarus, St. Gallen and Zurich markets, the team at Fuchs Immobilien AG has been helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate dreams for the last eight years. Here, Co-Owner and Head of Marketing Claudia Fuchs takes us inside the Central European real estate market.
Please describe your current housing market.
Claudia Fuchs: We’re currently seeing prices rise throughout our market as a lot of people from Zurich have made the decision to move to Glarus to take advantage of the area’s family-friendly atmosphere and natural beauty. While properties in Glarus are typically less expensive than other areas, there’s a huge range in home prices. Small apartments in the mountains start around 250,000 CHF (Swiss francs; approximately $270,000), with bigger houses going for anywhere between 800,000 and 1,700,000 CHF.
How would you describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your market?
CF: Our housing market is still very stable. Glarus is a small city with a lot of natural beauty, and it evokes less stress than cities like Zurich. We’ve seen more people choose to purchase homes in this area this year, which has led to a lot of activity throughout the pandemic. Another noticeable trend is buyers looking for second homes in the mountains.
Tell us about the types of properties in your market and which are most popular.
CF: Single homes, condos, resorts, second residences and rural properties are all popular among our clientele.
What types of buyers do you work with? Are they predominantly local or mixed from other countries?
CF: While most of our buyers are local or from the greater area of Zurich, we also work with buyers from Germany, England and the United States. As prices around Zurich continue to increase, our region is becoming more popular.
What are your biggest challenges/opportunities for growth?
CF: Growth was never the plan; it has been a direct result of the work we’ve done over the last few years. We have a deep knowledge and high interest in social media marketing and digitization of the real estate industry. While most of our competitors are in a higher age bracket, with less knowledge of these digital components, this continues to be one of our biggest advantages when it comes to growing quickly. But as a small team with high standards, growth can bring some challenges along with it. Since we create all processes internally, rapid growth would change this whole workflow. Our No. 1 goal for the future is to ensure that we continue to be passionate about our work.
How does being part of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) help advance your business?
CF: Being part of LeadingRE allows us to network internationally while growing our expertise in digital marketing and expanding our network for our clients.
For more information, please visit www.fuchsimmobilien.ch.
