Livit Swiss Master

Best academic work in the field of real estate

The complexity of real estate management is increasing from year to year, and individual property managers can barely keep up. Companies in the sector must continuously evolve and improve – in terms of their services, processes and organisation.

Furthermore, the real estate sector is characterised by long-term and capital-intensive investments. This means decisions have a big impact and must be carefully thought out.

In light of this, Livit promotes the latest developments and insights in the industry to facilitate innovation.

Livit presents the Livit Swiss Master award at the ‘Best of Research’ conference. Nine universities offering real estate courses each put forward their best research contributions. The students present their work to the jury at the conference. The jury awards the title ‘Livit Swiss Master’ to the project with the most practical relevance, thereby recognising it as the best academic work in the field of real estate.

The award recognises outstanding research, creative ideas and groundbreaking innovations. We look forward to giving the students the recognition they deserve.

from left to right: Prof. Dr. Peter Ilg (Swiss REI), Lisa Pantenburg (BFH), Thomas Kobe (Head of construction management Livit Ltd, Member of the Executive Board)

And the winner 2024 is ...

Lisa Pantenburg of Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH won the Livit Swiss Master’s degree with her work

Decarbonisation: Potential in the refurbishment of existing properties

We would like to congratulate her most sincerely and thank all the students for the exciting presentations.

The following studies were submitted in 2024:

What factors influence the return on property foundations?
Joséphine Zürcher, HSLU
Property portfolio: Achieving CO2 neutrality and increasing returns. An implementation plan is presented.
Raffaele Cannistrà, Andreas Dietrich, Annica Raichle, Klaus Sedlmeyer, HWZ
What are the most important criteria for choosing a place to live in Switzerland?
Santiago Viñán, University of Zurich
Indirect property investments: the importance of liquidity for share price performance
Severin Joël Keller, ZHAW
Estate planning for property portfolios: detailed, early planning is necessary.
Livia Brunner, Angela Plattner, OST
Decarbonisation: potential in the refurbishment of existing properties
Lisa Pantenburg, Bern University of Applied Sciences
To what extent does new housing supply benefit lower income groups?
Lukas Hauck, Frédéric Kluser, University of Bern
Price trends for second homes in Graubünden: Review and outlook
Gian-Reto Trepp, University of Applied Sciences Graubünden
View for owner-occupied flats: How much is the increase in value?
Diego Ferrari, University of Basel

All presentations can be viewed on the website of the Swiss Real Estate Institute.

The following studies were submitted in 2023:

General revaluations of real estate in the canton of Schwyz
Bruno Grab, Bern University of Applied Sciences
Innocheck Project AUKZIA
Claude Meier, HWZ
Dynamic real estate strategies for optimal portfolio management
Patrick Spieler, University of Zurich
Energy renovation and building refurbishment
Fedderico Fabbian, EPFL
Committee work in regional development: stumbling blocks and success factors
Nicola Hilti and Johannes Herburger, OST
10-minute neighbourhoods: opportunities for sustainable land use
Sibylle Wälty, ETH
Dealing with climate extremes in the risk management of real estate portfolios
Climate risks in the risk management of Swiss real estate portfolios
Nicole Moser, ZHAW
Investment in sustainable real estate and infrastructure
Irma Kessler, HSLU
The role of proptech in achieving sustainability certification
Sebastian Krebs and Alois Weigand, University of St. Gallen

Sibylle Wälty of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) won the 2023 Livit Swiss Master with her thesis “10-minute neighbourhoods: opportunities for sustainable land use”.