Interview with a luxury real estate agent "I've seen properties with an underground football pitch"
While Mark Zuckerberg buys a villa for 170 million dollars, the Swiss luxury real estate market remains much more restrained. Benjamin Stamm from Walde Immobilien gives an insight into the scene here in Switzerland.
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- There are many large mansions in America. Like Mark Zuckerberg's new house, for example.
- Among other things, it has nine rooms and eleven bathrooms and cost 170 million US dollars.
- There is also a luxury real estate market in Switzerland, but it is much more restrained.
- Benjamin Stamm from Walde Immobilien gives blue News an insight.
Benjamin Stamm, Mark Zuckerberg recently bought a villa for around 170 million US dollars. Among other things, the house has nine bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. In what size range do you sell houses?
We market various properties. These include villas with a corresponding number of rooms, and the number of bedrooms in particular is often an issue. Bathrooms, on the other hand, play a less central role. Unlike in the USA, where each bedroom usually has its own bathroom, this is not culturally common in Switzerland. Large villas have an average of three to five bathrooms, although five is rare. The solution is often "one bathroom per floor". However, the master bedroom often has a directly adjoining bathroom.
About the person
Benjamin Stamm has been working in the real estate industry for around 25 years. He currently works for Walde Immobilien. They are one of the most important providers in the premium segment. Stamm is head of the right-hand side of Lake Zurich.
So Americans live more luxuriously than the Swiss?
I think it's fair to say that America is very big per se. Everything is bigger than in Switzerland, including the country itself. Zuckerberg's estate covers around 8000 square meters. Such dimensions are almost unheard of in Switzerland, especially for individual homes. Although there are large properties here too, they are rarely of a comparable size.
Zuckerberg is an extreme example. Are the Swiss generally more cautious, especially when it comes to property? It's a well-known fact that people don't like to talk about wealth in this country.
Generally speaking, people here tend to be more reserved and private. Buyers of such houses are often locals already living in Switzerland, but also expats. There are clear differences between these two groups. Expats, mostly from Europe, often bring different expectations and a different mindset to a house than people who have grown up in Switzerland. The Swiss tend to have a smaller, more reserved, somewhat more conservative mindset. And this is also reflected in their choice of real estate, even in the premium segment.
What differences are there in the properties themselves?
We have different architectural styles, such as historic Art Nouveau villas from the turn of the century. People with an international background often prefer more modern properties that tend to have larger rooms. However, rooms of 40 to 50 square meters are unusual here; 20 square meters is already considered spacious. Even in houses with ten to twelve rooms, the rooms are not oversized. This also has to do with the limited space in Switzerland.
What role do expats play in the real estate market, and is their importance increasing?
No, expats do not dominate the market. Around three quarters of buyers have strong roots in Switzerland.
Immigration does play a role, especially in economically strong regions such as around Lake Zurich or in Geneva, where many jobs are located. Accordingly, the willingness to purchase residential property is also increasing there. Tax factors can also play a role, but cannot be weighted across the board.
Overall, however, the market remains clearly dominated by domestic buyers.
You look after the right side of Lake Zurich. How big is the average house you sell?
A typical detached house comprises five to eight rooms, including living and dining areas. The decisive factor for many buyers, however, is the number of lockable rooms. In most cases, one room per child plus a master bedroom is required.
Larger villas with ten to fifteen rooms are mainly found in locations such as the Zürichberg. On the Gold Coast, there are more likely to be up to eight rooms. The year of construction also plays an important role here: many of these spacious properties date from around 1910, when buildings were built differently and often with more space than today.
You mentioned families. Are these your typical customers?
There isn't just one customer. But it does tend to be families who buy a villa.
But why do they need so much space?
You certainly have to differentiate between which property you are talking about. With older houses, it's not really about the number of rooms, but about the charm of the house: high ceilings, stucco work and a certain historical charm are the main focus here.
However, the need for more space often arises quite pragmatically. As soon as there are children, additional rooms are simply needed. This applies not only to the luxury segment, but also to the real estate market in general.
Another important point is the room layout: many people want to have several bedrooms on the same floor. If you want to have three or four bedrooms on one floor, for example, you automatically need more space, which makes the property correspondingly more expensive.
Then there are the classic living spaces such as the living and dining areas and nowadays often one or even two studies. This has changed significantly, especially since the pandemic: Even couples without children often want their own home office per person.
This means you can quickly end up with seven or eight rooms. This sounds very large at first, but often results from very practical needs.
Although there are also houses with significantly more rooms, they tend to be the exception in Switzerland. The market does not generally demand such sizes. In the premium segment, most properties are still in the single-digit room range.
Are there also houses that are too big? Do you tell your clients that?
No. You can't make a blanket assessment of whether a property is too big. The decisive factor is whether it meets the basic requirements, especially for an upmarket clientele whose expectations we know well.
In addition to size, many other factors play an important role, such as privacy, view or location. In this segment, it's not just about square meters. If the central criteria are right, buyers are quite prepared to make compromises on individual aspects. However, those who are prepared to pay a high price expect a coherent overall package.
Mark Zuckerberg's new villa has its own spa, a Himalayan salt wall, a pool, a private jetty and more. Is that also important for your customers?
That is of course the superlative, which is also Americanized. In Switzerland, the pool is certainly an issue. Not that it is urgently required, many houses simply already have one. But of course in the premium segment, people also make sure that the basement is nicely finished, where normally there is simply a cellar or concrete. In the larger luxury homes, it can happen that there is a sauna, a cold water pool or a fitness area. But home cinemas or very unusual features tend to be isolated cases.
Do you have any examples of particularly extravagant properties?
Such cases are rare. I once saw a property with an underground football pitch. There are also very elaborately designed pools or special materials such as gold-plated tiles. On the whole, however, the Swiss tend to be conservative and reserved.
How often do you sell a house in the luxury segment?
I can't give you any figures, but we've been around for 40 years and are an important market player in the premium segment. Accordingly, we regularly have sales that we are allowed to manage. Not just on Lake Zurich, but all over German-speaking Switzerland. We also have partners in Ticino and around Lake Geneva.
We take discretion very seriously and it is also a big issue in this segment. On both sides, sellers and buyers, they want to remain very anonymous and we take that into account.
How long does a sale take?
It varies. In the luxury segment, it takes time. Less than six months is rare. Buyers are not usually under time pressure.
Is it true that wealthy people tend to sell their homes more quickly? Or how long do they stay in such properties?
On the contrary: in the premium segment, people often stay much longer. Ten, twenty or thirty years are not uncommon. But I can't give you a specific time period. Some of the customers we have have grown up in the houses, so you don't just sell them like that. What's more, homes are extremely important to Swiss people. If you find the right property, you don't want to sell it again so quickly. Unlike in the USA, for example, where owners change their homes much more often on average.
It is said that women always have the last word when buying a house. Can you confirm that?
(laughs) It's important that the partners feel comfortable. But it varies here too. For us, it's a good sign if you're already mentally settling in. For example, if you can already see the children playing in the garden.
One last question: which sale do you particularly remember?
It's not so much a single case as the interplay of trust and emotion. When sellers entrust you with their home and buyers see it as their new home, it's something special every time.
