The moving boxes have started to fill up at home with Ulla and Gunnar Lundmark. They have accepted a rental, but have not yet sold their house on Anderstorp in Skellefteå.
They are not the only ones in the moving process. Within a few kilometers, there are 25 similar houses for sale. Hundreds of new apartments in the area are either soon to be ready for occupancy or under construction.
Ulla Lundmark says she has noticed the competition, something that is unlikely to improve due to Northvolt's bankruptcy notice. The battery manufacturer is the municipality's largest private employer with around 3,000 employees.
It doesn't feel good. It's not fun with double rent, she says.
Anxiety among sellers
Other sellers testify to stress and anxiety about not being able to sell their homes.
There are an enormous number of objects out now compared to a year ago. And those who actually get sold don't get the prices they used to, says a man who wants to remain anonymous.
There were 144 percent more objects for sale during the last four-week period compared to last year, and it takes more than twice as long for the homes to be sold, according to Booli. On the other hand, a record number of purchases were made last year, notes a real estate agent.
Lars-Erik Lundberg, CEO of Mäklarringen in Skellefteå, has been a real estate agent in the city for 43 years. The peak was reached in 2022, he says.
It was a war about them, there were no objects. Then you bid and the prices were driven up. What was hardest hit was condominiums, and they have fallen the most. On Anderstorp, the prices of a three-room apartment have dropped by 400,000 kronor, he says.
Still building
Lundberg advises his sellers to lower the price to get their homes sold. But most choose to wait.
He, like several other real estate agents in Skellefteå, emphasizes that it is too early to say how the Northvolt bankruptcy will affect. Maybe the factory can be saved.
The worst is if it becomes a catastrophe – that is, if it's not resolved. Then you don't want to live in Skellefteå, then the prices will fall enormously.
At Riksbyggen, they notice that the market is waiting, but project manager Michael Danielsson says that even in uncertain times, people need to change homes.
"It's possible that it takes longer to make a decision or that you look at other types of objects in these times, but Skellefteå will continue to develop in one way or another and housing will be needed even if it's not the same sales pace as before", he writes.
Over 400 homes are for sale in Skellefteå, and that does not include new production. It's about three times as many as a normal year for this time of year.
On average, homes are on the market for 54 days, compared to 24 days the same weeks last year.
The prices of condominiums have fallen in recent months, while villa prices are slightly up.
When it comes to square meter prices and sold homes in a rolling 12-month average, there is no significant difference, and Skellefteå follows the country's trends.
Sources: Booli, Hemnet, Svensk mäklarstatistik.
