Basically, if you sell within ten years of buying and don't use the money to buy another house to live in, you are liable for CGT. After ten years, no CGT. The Germans have a similar rule, and it helps to keep property prices down.
The Swiss, as a society and culture, seriously have their **** together. Mostly because they've got a proper democracy and sense of community, rather than the sort of "elective dictatorships" and dog-eat-dog attitude favoured in the contemporary Anglo worlds.
Firstly, because there are a phenomenal number of wealthy foreigners who want to get dirty and/or potentially utterly worthless paper money into real assets in a country with a stable country.
Secondly, because we have a hopelessly choked supply. If supply were sufficiently elastic, then zillions of people buying empty houses would be irrelevant because they wouldn't be driving up prices for locals. (EDIT: and hopeless underinvestment in infrastructure - adequate infrastructure is also required to make our very high population growth workable.)
Thirdly, because if property were treated sanely by the taxation system, then houses being bought and left empty would attract suitable taxes to discourage such a gross and inefficient waste of resources, keeping prices and rent down, rather than encouraging it and keeping prices and rent up.
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- care to expand please?
