The crisis and subsequent bankruptcy of Northvolt, which had thousands of employees at the factory area in Skellefteå, is hitting the city's housing market hard.
When the first notice was given, there was an increase in the number of terminated apartments. Then we saw an increase again, with the bankruptcy, says Anna Ersson, customer and market manager at Skebo.
This is a stark contrast to before a few years ago. Then, Northvolt's establishment and expansions contributed to the housing market becoming overheated and numerous new constructions were planned.
New constructions frozen
It is also in new production that Skebo notices the effect most clearly.
Those who have moved to Skellefteå to work at Northvolt have gotten their apartments mainly in new production. And it is there that we also see the largest termination and get the most vacancies, says Ersson.
The company is building around 450 new apartments, and those constructions will be completed. But two projects at the planning stage with a total of 350 apartments have been paused.
There are still conditions for long-term growth. Then it can be a short-term bump with tougher times on that journey, says Anna Ersson.
More for sale
Even among condominiums and houses, major changes are noticeable. More than 500 objects are for sale, excluding new production. Looking at a four-week period, it is 112% more compared to the same period last year. The apartments are also taking longer to sell.
"It's definitely going a bit slower right now. Bids are almost non-existent. We measure the difference between the starting price and the final price, and over the past four weeks, a bid in Skellefteå went down on average by -1.6 percent", writes Karin Grundeus on SBAB's housing site Booli in an email.
