Potential Seeker in action: Analyzing usage reserves of over 150 properties
Published: May 25, 2022Last updated: September 29, 2025
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The increasing scarcity of available building land in Switzerland is a challenge that institutional investors and developers know all too well. This makes it all the more important to maximize the potential of a portfolio’s existing properties. With this goal in mind, a long-standing client commissioned Wüest Partner to identify earnings potential and value reserves within its real estate portfolio.
The focus of this assignment was to analyze usage reserves within the framework of applicable building regulations, as well as to identify potential utilization through demolition and new construction. As such, the selected properties were examined individually in an automated process to assess their usage reserves.
Potential Seeker
Potential Seeker, a new module within Wüest Dimensions launched in February 2022, was used for the project. The main function of Potential Seeker is to determine untapped real estate potential. Through fully automated analysis of both developed and undeveloped plots, it efficiently identifies the potential of underutilized parcels.
To achieve this, Potential Seeker combines Wüest Partner’s proprietary data and models with publicly available external sources. These include the latest cantonal and municipal building regulations and zoning codes, as well as cadastral survey and topographic data. Information on bodies of water, slope gradients, building footprints, and building lines also factor into the analysis. Potentials are then automatically calculated as the difference between the actual available area and the maximum possible area permitted by zoning laws.
Results
As part of the assignment, Wüest Partner conducted a systematic analysis of over 150 of the client’s properties using Potential Seeker. From there, the properties with the largest value reserves were identified, and the project concluded with interpretations of the results as well as recommendations for the project managers. The following results are particularly worth highlighting:
- Every fourth property in the portfolio had a net value reserve that could be realized through an extension or a replacement building.
- The average net value reserve of the properties analyzed was around 20 percent, and for 2 percent of properties, it was even over 100 percent.
- Implementing the ten projects with the largest value reserves could generate an additional change in value yield of around 3 percent for the portfolio.