Monthly Blog- February 2024
Charles Whitmee
This month I travelled to the historic city of Bern, the place where Albert Einstein famously began to develop his Theory of Relativity. The story goes that Einstein was riding on a tram in the city during his time working as a patent clerk. As he looked out of the window, he saw the Zytglogge, a prominent clock tower in Bern's old town.
As Einstein watched the clock tower, he began to ponder the nature of time. He imagined what it would be like to ride alongside a beam of light as it travelled through space. This thought experiment led him to question the classical understanding of time and space, which had been largely defined by the work of Isaac Newton.
Hoping for a similar degree of sublime inspiration from the city, I arrived at Bern central train station and began my project- a residential market analysis and search for a new ambassadorial residence.
The market for residential real estate in Bern is characterized by a notable lack of supply. This applies across the spectrum but is particularly notable at the upper end of the market. All the local agents and experts with whom I consulted mentioned that properties generally will be bought very soon after coming onto the market and achieve their asking prices.
In fact, the high-end market is driving much of the price growth in the city, with unfavourable financing conditions dampening the lower ends of the market. This, combined with limited supply of new or second-hand houses coming onto the market has created a steady upward pressure on prices. According to the Swiss bank BEKB, house prices in the canton of Bern increased by 3.5% in 2023 but this figure jumps to over 9% when looking specifically at the Kirchenfeld neighbourhood, for example.
Kirchenfeld has a reputation for being the most desirable neighbourhood in Bern. It is located across the Aare river from the main area of Bern and has the character of a quiet suburb despite its proximity to the city centre. The average price for houses in Kirchenfeld is CHF 9,454 per square metre, and CHF 10,752 per square metre for apartments. Over recent years, the surrounding neighbourhoods of Sandrain and Brunnadern have grown in popularity and have achieved relative parity with Kirchenfeld regarding prices. Other areas of the city which are becoming increasingly popular with high-income individuals include the northeastern suburbs of Spitalacker, Breitenrain and Lorraine.
