Switzerland has an incredibly high percentage of foreigners. According to the latest census, 25% of the residents in Switzerland are not Swiss[i].
What does it mean for local real estate agencies?
Some real estate actors, especially in touristic areas (ski stations, cities that host many international companies) are very aware that foreigners represent a big part of their clientele. It doesn’t have to be transactions only. Indeed, many foreigners first look to rent a place, before buying several years later. Capturing international clients for transaction may very well begin by serving them to find a rental place at first.
What websites do international clients browse ?
If you Google « properties for sale around Lausanne », or « flats for sale in Verbier », you will find in the first results websites that are not the local leaders. You will find Realtor.com (American real estate website), as well as RightMove (UK property portal) or PrimeLocation.com (UK property portal).
In a similar fashion, if an Italian user Googles searches, he will find Immobiliare.it (#1 in Italy) much before local property portals.
Bottom line: every interaction with international clients counts. Do marketing efforts for your rentals, you will get international clients who just moved to Switzerland and will down the line become clients for transaction.
How to capture international clients ?
The best way to take advantage of this market is to adopt a complete international marketing strategy with :
- Offline presence : partnerships with real estate agencies abroad
- Online presence : website available in mulitple languages, SEO and SEA strategy (organic and paid search)
- Online presence : publication on a network of leading property portals around the world, to reach foreigners in the language they know, on websites they browse
At ListGlobally we are here to help local actors get a strong international marketing presence, by publishing their listings on a network of over 130 property portals including leaders in France, Italy, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, Belgium [ii]among others.
International market is an always changing market. Russians may be more quiet than they were 10 years ago, while agencies make their first transactions with Chinese buyers. As we are fully focused on international presence, we constantly make deals with portals around the world, so as to offer our clients the strongest and most accurate international publication.
Thanks for reading my latest article on foreign buyers in Switzerland. For more information about foreign buyers in several countries please consult https://foreignbuyerswatch.com/ . For more information about how to build a strong international marketing strategy for your agency or franchise network, simply email me at reiser@listglobally.com
[i] https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/societe/s%C3%A9rie-migration–partie-1-_deux-millions-d-%C3%A9trangers-en-suisse–mais-qui-sont-ils-/42409190
[ii] https://www.listglobally.com/PublicNetwork?country=CH&network=Premium
[1] https://www.listglobally.com/PublicNetwork?country=CH&network=Premium