Swiss property investment: small contributions, significant returns amid market risks

With 58% of its population renting, Switzerland has one of the lowest home ownership rates in the world. Property in the country is scarce and expensive. However, it is possible to invest in the sector with relatively small sums and achieve surprising returns, though not without risks. For instance, Raizers, a property crowdlending platform founded in Switzerland ten years ago and now operating in seven European countries, offers an entry fee of CHF1,000 ($1,182) with an average rate of return of 10% over a 24-month period. The concept, explains Maxime Pallain, co-founder of Raizers, on Monday's Basik programme, is to "enable property developers to borrow money from thousands of private individuals and investment professionals, purchase a property, renovate it, sell it, make a profit, and then repay the investors." "We raise more than CHF100 million a year on around 100 deals, with almost 50,000 people registered on our platform," adds Pallain. Co-ownership of property Foxstone ...