Swiss PropTech Report

Construction Market Although the construction industry only contributes a good 5% to the overall economic value added, construction investments account for around 15% of Swiss gross domestic product. Around 330,000 full-time positions are located in civil engineering. That corresponds to a third of all employees in the industrial sector. In 2020, the revenue in the construction sector was 5.8 percent lower than in the previous year to 19.5 billion francs.

The construction sector is perceived as not very innovative in terms of materials and construction methods. The pandemic has directly affected the construction sector less than other sectors. The construction sites only had to be closed to a limited time in individual cases, but ongoing construction projects could be continued almost without delay. Because of the pandemic, there is uncertainty in the sector. And the investors want to postpone new projects. The demand for office and commercial property in particular is falling significantly. The residential property construction remains stable but significantly less dynamic than before Covid-19. Under the bottom line, Covid-19 could decrease favour construction activity.

The Construction sector involves the entire development of a building from project to demolition. This sector supports all other PropTech areas. The digitalization is not processed in every area of the construction sector. By ‘digitalization’, we mean the transformation of processes, organizational settings, and project delivery methods that need to be coupled with the adoption of digital technologies in order to gain the full benefits of the digitalization of the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.

“The Future for Industrial services is DIGITAL TWIN”, as the mentioned quote says, the next big revolution in the Industrial sector is going to be the Implementation of the Digital Twin Technology, which would make many processes simpler when it comes to the Industrial services if it is successfully achieved. The integration of sustainability building design with BIM technology helps the designers to fully grasp the whole building data and information. The distributed ledger technology can, in fact, guide a lean construction process by reducing the industry fragmentation and complexity, making it a single trusted entity. Distributed ledger technology is here, and although it is at an early stage of development with many challenges, it presents a relevant opportunity for all companies in the construction industry to emerge as more effective, transparent, and sustainable entities.

Due to the increasing number of vacant apartments, a decline in construction activity is to be expected in the medium term, especially in regions with poor transport connections. There is great potential in the energy-efficient renovation of building parks.

The demand for smaller residential units is increasing, as is the pressure for better utilization of the settlement areas in cities and agglomerations. This makes the replacement of new buildings more important. Digital developments will change construction methods and lead to further increases in productivity. The uncertainty and the feared recession will lead in the short to medium term to higher vacancies in office and commercial space as well as in residential buildings. This should influence the order situation in the construction industry in the medium term.