In Switzerland the scam is different but it's still a scam in a way.
Every housing is overvaluated by a factor 2 to 4 (depending on the demand in your area), because mortgage is low, 1 to 2% long term, it was even below 1% for 10 years fixed rate 5-6 years ago. You can use your retirement money to fund the mortgage and if you have a high income you only need 10% additional downpayment.
Also you are incentivized to have a mortgage as high as possible because you get tax reduction and as we have a wealth tax, all your debt is deduced from you wealth, so you can pay much less wealth tax (even if it's usually less than 1%).
Then there the fact that you never need ro reimburse your mortgage, one you paid back 60%, you can stop paying back and just pay the interest on the rest for life.
So the highest your income, the higher debt you can take, so more you can keep to invest, and beating 2% return is not that hard in stock market. So basically you get free additional income for being rich and owning a house.
The result is that the prices are crazy high, as people need only 10-15% down payment in most cases, they csn buy house they would not be able to afford. Almost nobody pay a house in full and if you do you are loosing money. On top of the in area with high demande, price of housing increase faster, which push people to pay even more as they think they will anyway sell it for more in the future if needed.
So the scam is not what you pay as interest, like where you have 5-8% interest (or more) but the fake high price you have to pay to really own your place.
I really wish Bitcoin break this circle, make real estate not profitable as an investment, at least much less and much more risky than Bitcoin. Buying would get more affordable as only people would want to leave in the house would consider buying. Which would eventually relief pressure on rent for those who cannot afford to buy anyway and allowing to save more (in Bitcoin) to maybe buy later if you wish.
Eluc
npub1ea…x54mw
2025-04-15 20:10:17
in reply to nevent1q…vcvl
Author Public Key
npub1eaadqhuwn80gatdml02u58q0nd65nx7wqur5je4jwa5gef0p6unqrx54mwPublished at
2025-04-15 20:10:17Event JSON
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"content": "In Switzerland the scam is different but it's still a scam in a way.\nEvery housing is overvaluated by a factor 2 to 4 (depending on the demand in your area), because mortgage is low, 1 to 2% long term, it was even below 1% for 10 years fixed rate 5-6 years ago. You can use your retirement money to fund the mortgage and if you have a high income you only need 10% additional downpayment. \n\nAlso you are incentivized to have a mortgage as high as possible because you get tax reduction and as we have a wealth tax, all your debt is deduced from you wealth, so you can pay much less wealth tax (even if it's usually less than 1%).\nThen there the fact that you never need ro reimburse your mortgage, one you paid back 60%, you can stop paying back and just pay the interest on the rest for life.\n\nSo the highest your income, the higher debt you can take, so more you can keep to invest, and beating 2% return is not that hard in stock market. So basically you get free additional income for being rich and owning a house.\n\nThe result is that the prices are crazy high, as people need only 10-15% down payment in most cases, they csn buy house they would not be able to afford. Almost nobody pay a house in full and if you do you are loosing money. On top of the in area with high demande, price of housing increase faster, which push people to pay even more as they think they will anyway sell it for more in the future if needed.\n\nSo the scam is not what you pay as interest, like where you have 5-8% interest (or more) but the fake high price you have to pay to really own your place.\n\nI really wish Bitcoin break this circle, make real estate not profitable as an investment, at least much less and much more risky than Bitcoin. Buying would get more affordable as only people would want to leave in the house would consider buying. Which would eventually relief pressure on rent for those who cannot afford to buy anyway and allowing to save more (in Bitcoin) to maybe buy later if you wish.",
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