Frequently asked questions about property in Geneva

There is no single rate: the fee is discussed according to the property, the instruction and the support expected, and it is agreed in writing before anything goes to market. It is payable only if the sale completes, and covers the whole instruction: documented valuation, photography and plans, marketing, selection and qualification of buyers, accompanied viewings, negotiation, then follow-up through to signature at the notary's office. Nothing is invoiced during the instruction.

A sole agency reserves the marketing to a single intermediary. It is what allows real resources to be committed, because the broker knows they will see it through: careful photography, buyer targeting, discretion, time spent. An open listing, given to several agencies, scatters the effort and weakens the property — it appears everywhere, sometimes on differing terms, and a buyer who sees the same property at three agencies concludes that it will not sell.

The time depends first on the launch price, then on the municipality and the type of property. A correctly positioned property finds a buyer considerably faster than an overpriced one that has to be brought back by successive reductions — and every public reduction weakens the negotiation. The average time observed is shown municipality by municipality on each page.

It is marketing without any public advertisement: no portal, no sign board, no listing. The property is shown to a small circle of buyers whose files are already known and qualified. For the seller it preserves confidentiality — neighbours, tenants and professional contacts do not learn that the property is for sale — and it avoids a property sitting visible on a portal for months, which devalues it. Selling off-market does not mean selling for less: it means selling differently.

A property that does not move almost always sends the same signal: the advertised price does not match what the market is prepared to pay today. But the cause can also lie in the presentation — photographs, plans, text, positioning — or in a scattered instruction. Before lowering the price, it is worth having the listing itself analysed; that is what our confidential audit does, free of charge.

It depends on the permit and the intended use. The Lex Koller governs the acquisition of property by people abroad: an EU or EFTA national resident in Switzerland may buy their main residence freely, while someone resident outside Switzerland requires authorisation, which is refused in most cases for residential property in Geneva. A non-European B permit holder may acquire their main residence, but not an investment property. Every situation is checked before making an offer, never after.

Swiss banks finance in principle up to 80% of the property's value, which means 20% equity — at least half of which must come from savings other than the second pillar. Above roughly 3 million, the loan-to-value ratio falls and the deposit required rises considerably. To that must be added Geneva's purchase costs, in the order of 4% of the price, which cannot be financed and must be available in cash.

It does not work from today's rates but from a theoretical charge: interest calculated at 5%, repayment of the second rank over fifteen years, and a flat 1% of the price for maintenance. That total, plus your existing commitments, must not exceed a third of your gross income. It is this theoretical 5% that explains why a file can be refused even though the actual monthly payment would be comfortable: the bank is testing you against a rise in rates.

Yes, but only for a main residence — never for an investment property or a second home. Withdrawal reduces your retirement and risk benefits, and triggers taxation at a reduced rate. Pledging is often preferable to withdrawal: it leaves the capital working while still serving as security.

The tax on real estate profits and gains applies to the gain made on a sale in Geneva. It is calculated on the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price, increased by purchase costs and duly evidenced value-adding works: hence the importance of keeping invoices and deeds throughout the period of ownership. The rate is degressive — the longer the property is held, the less the gain is taxed. It is payable by the seller, and the notary generally withholds the amount from the sale price.

Deferral exists: it is called rollover relief. When the proceeds from the sale of a main residence are reinvested, within a set period, in another main residence in Switzerland, taxation of the gain is deferred rather than cancelled — it will resurface on a later sale without rollover. The conditions are strict and assessed case by case: this is prepared before the sale, not after.

It is a Geneva reduction in registration duties, intended to make home ownership easier for a main residence. It applies under conditions — notably a price ceiling and an obligation to occupy the home — and the benefit can be clawed back if the property is resold or ceases to be occupied too soon. The notary checks eligibility at the time of the deed.

Imputed rental value is the theoretical rent an owner is deemed to receive by living in their own property: it is added to their taxable income, and in return they deduct mortgage interest and maintenance costs. Historically this mechanism has encouraged owners to keep debt rather than repay it. Its abolition has been set in motion at federal level, along with the deductions that accompany it — a change that alters the financial equation of buying and deserves to be anticipated in any project.

Geneva's Left Bank and its municipalities: Cologny, Vandœuvres, Chêne-Bougeries, Vésenaz, Collonge-Bellerive, Anières, Hermance, Corsier, Meinier, Choulex, Jussy, Presinge, Puplinge, Thônex, Troinex, Veyrier, Carouge, Conches and Plan-les-Ouates, together with the city neighbourhoods — Champel, Eaux-Vives and Geneva Old Town. Every municipality has its own page, with its prices, its timescales and its recorded transactions.

Yes. It commits you to nothing and is not conditional on signing an instruction. It rests on transactions actually recorded in your area, not on a neighbourhood average or a generic algorithm: two properties of the same size in the same street can be worth very different sums depending on the floor, the view, the condition and the aspect.

Yes. A request for a valuation or an audit is never published, never passed to third parties, and never used to approach the people around you. It is the very condition of the profession: many owners want to know what their property is worth without anyone learning that they are thinking about it.