Understandable hesitation
Eventually, maintaining a familiar garden becomes too much work, or climbing stairs becomes a problem. Nevertheless, many owners put off selling for years. For good reason: selling your own home is usually the biggest financial decision of your life, and most people have never sold a property before. The greatest fear is being taken advantage of—with profound consequences for your future quality of life.
The cause of property sales below market value
In fact, private owners in Switzerland sell their properties well below market value every single day. This concern is justified. The cause is a systemic flaw: traditional agents receive a percentage-based commission, so whether they achieve 100,000 francs more or less barely affects their own earnings. Many agents therefore seek a quick deal, even if it is far below market value.
Additional pitfalls when downsizing
Anyone selling their current home while simultaneously looking for a smaller one makes themselves additionally vulnerable.
- The potential leverage: Do not tell the agent of your new property that you still need to sell your current home. Agents often use this information to pressure clients and secure the listing for themselves. Those who give in here usually end up selling well below market value.
- The tax risk: If you reinvest the proceeds from a sale into a new home you intend to live in, you can defer capital gains tax. However, if you move out first and temporarily rent out your old property, you lose this valuable tax privilege—with costly consequences.
The secure path: Sell like the pros
How can you effectively protect your real estate assets and achieve a realistic sales price? Institutional investors, such as pension funds, lead the way: they rely on a multi-stage, methodical process that prevents errors and, consequently, sales below market value. Our company follows this approach and has made it accessible to private owners.
- A precise valuation: We determine the actual market value of your property by combining two hedonic valuations with estimates from three independent local agents. No other provider in Switzerland uses as many data points.
- The best regional agent: We filter through around 7,000 real estate agents in Switzerland to find the best three for your region. Our database tracks the performance of every agent in Switzerland, allowing us to reliably identify the most promising candidates for you. The final choice is entirely up to you.
- A watertight brokerage contract—with a bonus-malus system: If an agent sells below the estimated value, their commission is significantly reduced. If they succeed in selling at a higher price than planned, they are rewarded. This motivates the agent to put in maximum effort.
