What recommendations does the Swiss Property Owners Association give to its Zurich members following this recent court decision?
Transparency promotes efficiency
The Swiss real estate market is not very transparent by international standards. In the United States, for example, it is possible to find out easily and free of charge online who the current and previous owners are, as well as the most recent transaction prices and tax values of a property. Since transparent markets are much more efficient than opaque ones, extensive online consultation of cadastral data is in principle desirable (even if transaction prices are not yet public in Switzerland).
The more blocked the data, the less interesting online queries will be. Property owners in the canton of Zurich must therefore consider whether they want to contribute to more transparent and efficient real estate markets or whether they attach more importance to data protection.
Preventing professional data collectors and unwanted purchase offers
Although the cantons have more or less effective protection mechanisms against professional data collectors, our members report an increase in unsolicited purchase offers. Although these offers are a sign of the attractiveness of their property, and in some cases may even be flattering, more and more property owners are getting annoyed. Those who want to put an additional barrier to unwanted contacts should block their real estate data online.
