26/03/2021 | Broker Tips

The main Swiss associations of real estate professionals

USPI – The Swiss Union of Real Estate Professionals

USPI, an association founded in 1943, brings together associations of real estate professionals from the six cantons of French-speaking Switzerland (cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais, Vaud). It does not welcome individual members.

The main objectives of the USPI are to:

defend the interests of professionals in the French-speaking Switzerland real estate sector in general, particularly in legislative, fiscal and financial matters, and to establish links of fraternity between the various associations of managers and real estate agents in the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland;
bring together the various associations of owners and professionals including the ones dealing with real estate issues in Switzerland;
promote the development of recommendations on the definition of benefits;
encourage and improve the training of real estate professionals.

Being the interlocutor of the federal authorities, the USPI is regularly consulted on regulatory projects regarding real estate matters. It is also present internationally as a member of FIABCI – the International Federation of Real Estate Professions.

USPI has a training branch, USPI training, which aims to strengthen and develop the knowledge and skills of employees of member companies or companies operating in the real estate sector. All the training offered – whether general training or federal building manager, real estate agent, expert in real estate valuation, as well as the real estate administrator certificates – are validated by diplomas or titles recognized by the Confederation.

FIABCI-SUISSE – International Real Estate Federation

FIABCI – International Federation of Property Administrators and Real Estate Consultants – was founded in 1948. It is a non-profit organization with special consultative status with the United Nations. It is an association of real estate professionals and an international business club for these same professionals. It brings together administrators, real estate agents, experts, managers, investors, consultants, architects, notaries and lawyers.

FIABCI-SUISSE acts as a hub and information provider for the Swiss real estate industry, mainly for international business. It brings together Swiss organizations linked to international real estate. It is economically independent from the international federation.

CEI – The Swiss Chamber of Expert Property Valuers

The Swiss Chamber of Expert Property Valuers is a professional organization which mainly pursues the following objectives:

enhance the brand image of the real estate expert profession and defend its interests. CEI is a key player with judicial and administrative authorities, financial and insurance institutions as well as the public when it comes to choosing a qualified expert;
promote the training and improvement of expert property valuers, as well as the cohesion of methods for designing valuation reports and their recognition in the fields where these valuations are applied;
act as a benchmark body in terms of real estate expertise through collaboration with other associations active in real estate and make its experience and know-how available to the authorities.

CEI is mainly active in French-speaking Switzerland. Since 2012, it has officially cooperated with the SIV – Swiss Association of Real Estate Valuers – very represented in German-speaking Switzerland. With its training component, CEI regularly organizes continuous education seminars with the participation of renowned speakers and participates in the development of training programs preparing for the Federal Certificate of Expert in Real Estate Valuations. It also provides examiners to oversee federal exams.

ARCID – Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Graduates

The Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Graduates is a continuation of the Association of Graduated Property Managers and real estate agents created in 1988.

ARCID mainly pursues the following objectives:

promote the training and development of real estate professionals, defend the title of federal diploma and certificates in real estate economics and bring together the holders of this diploma;
improve contacts between real estate professionals and inform the public about the profession;
maintain relationships with other professional organizations;
prepare members of the profession for professional examinations, promote their development, organize seminars on topics of interest to the profession.

Excerpt from our interview with Julien Di Savino, real estate agent and president of ARCID: “The purpose of this association is to promote and defend the title of federal diploma and certificates in real estate economics, to inform the public and those interested in the profession as well as networking among members. For these purposes, we regularly organize events and seminars on current topics, such as the last one in which we discussed with the WeCan group the exciting topic of Tokenization and Blockchain applied to the real estate business and more particularly investment in investment properties. »

ACIGE – Association of Geneva real estate agencies and agents

ACIGE is an umbrella association bringing together players in the field of brokerage and real estate development in the canton of Geneva. Its objectives are:

defend and promote real estate professionals by bringing together only real estate agents and agencies meeting demanding and precise criteria;
set objectives, decided by the majority of its members, in order to promote and develop the profession and access to property;
promote collaboration between members of the association by following well-defined rules;
supervise and regulate real estate transactions in Geneva, particularly by requiring a professional card.

APCG – Association of Genevan promotors and builders

The Association of Genevan promotors and builders was founded in 1989 by members of the « Groupement des promoteurs constructeurs genevois » (Genevan promotors and builders group). The aim of the association is to:

bring together professionals of the branch in activity in the canton of Geneva;
represent and defend the members’ interests;
ensure that the interests of third parties using the services of its members are preserved.

A quick reminder of what a developer-builder is: « From the first feasibility studies to the delivery of the buildings, the developer-builder acts as the centre of gravity for the development of any type of real estate program. He manages and coordinates all financial, technical, administrative, legal and commercial aspects with a view to the realization of a project. It is therefore an essential link in the creation of housing and activity areas for the population ».

SVIT – Swiss association for the real estate economy

SVIT brings together ten member organizations throughout Switzerland, to which are added five independent chambers of professionals: Chamber of experts, Chamber of independent consultants in project management, Swiss Chamber of real estate agents, Chamber of facility management and Professional chamber of owners per floor. For its members, the association is an experienced partner who offers and develops a wide range of services, as well as first-rate know-how and network.

SVIT allows many trades and sectors of activity to come together: lawyers, developers, architects, builders, managers, valuation experts, brokers, investment advisers, equipment manufacturers, trust companies, etc.

The objectives of SVIT are as follows:

intervene in favour of the professionalization of the Swiss real estate economy;
encourage the recognition and reputation of the real estate professions as well as of the entire branch;
work in close collaboration with professional and real estate associations;
represent the interests of the real estate economy to the public, legislative bodies and authorities;
support the commercial policy interests of its members and of players in the real estate economy market. SVIT is particularly committed to liberal market and property regulation in Switzerland;
institute and promote professional and continuing training within the real estate industry and offer training programs to its members;
offer players in the real estate market basic training geared to their needs;
develop professional regulations for the real estate economy and examine their application.

SIV – Swiss association of real estate appraisers

The Swiss Association of Real Estate Appraisers (SIV) represents real estate appraisers. The association is more present in German-speaking Switzerland. Its main objective is training for the profession of expert in real estate valuation through its subsidiary SIREA – the Swiss training institute for real estate valuation – which it oversees at 100% and to which it delegates continuing training activities and of research. The association also works to meet and exchange experiences between its members.