Mortgage buyers face tough choice

Pixabay

In what may seem to be counter intuitive in these days of rising interest rates – long term mortgages are becoming cheaper again. But potential home buyers need to make a choice on whether to take a long-term fixed rate.

At the start of the year, long term rates climbed strongly from around 1.4% to 3%. But are now heading down again.

The reason is the economy in the United States seems to be faltering. Stefan Mayner from MoneyPark told the Tribune de Genève that Swiss capital markets are strongly linked with the US where there are new recession fears - so rates could stabilize. 

But short-term mortgages are linked with rates set by the Swiss National Bank and they’re likely to rise further. Mayner says the choice of what type to take our depends on how much risk the buyer wants to take. 

Interest rate uncertainty has not yet had an impact on the housing market. A study by Raiffeisen Bank shows prices for homes are still climbing. 

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play