The housing market is characterized by an increasing supply and more sales. Prices – which have increased for the sixth month in a row – appear to be leveling out.
The market has normalized over the past few months, says Hans Flink, business development manager at Svensk Mäklarstatistik.
June saw relatively small price increases. Prices for apartments rose by 0.2 percent compared to May, while prices for villas increased by 0.7 percent, according to Svensk Mäklarstatistik's monthly measurement.
Except for the pandemic years, it usually looks like this in June, that apartment prices are basically stagnant while villa prices go up a bit, says Hans Flink.
On an annual basis, apartment prices have risen by 2.4 percent and villa prices by 1.4 percent. Prices for recreational homes, on the other hand, have fallen by 1.7 percent over the past year.
Major Cities Driving the Market
It is clear that the housing market has come to life, following the Swedish Central Bank's interest rate cut in May and its forecast of up to three cuts in the fall. Over three months, the price increase for apartments has been 3.4 percent and for villas 3.0 percent.
In the major cities, it's even more driven. Apartments in Greater Stockholm and Greater Gothenburg have actually gone up 7 percent since the turn of the year, and villas 6 percent, says Hans Flink.
The number of housing transactions also continues to rise. During the second quarter, 44,700 homes were sold – an increase of 14 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
Total, 82,100 homes have been sold so far this year, which is an increase of 12 percent.
It's a normalized market now. During the pandemic, there were far too many sales, and the past two years have seen too few. We have a pent-up demand for moving and now we're seeing it being satisfied, says Flink.
"Relatively High"
Johan Nordenfelt, information manager at the real estate agency Erik Olsson, believes in a soft landing "where inflation and interest rates fall roughly in line with the housing market's expectations".
"We still expect the strength to manifest in the form of many homes being sold, rather than prices rising significantly, since today's housing prices are relatively high considering the interest rate level", he writes in an email.
Marcus Svanberg, CEO of Länsförsäkringar Fastighetsförmedling, makes a similar analysis:
"Interest rates are on their way down, and that makes more Swedes feel secure about buying a new home."
Average price for apartments (SEK/sq.m.):
Nationally: 44,722
Central Stockholm: 108,438
Greater Stockholm: 66,333
Central Gothenburg: 64,468
Greater Gothenburg: 47,964
Central Malmö: 38,169
Greater Malmö: 35,380
.
Average price for villas:
Nationally: 3,867,000
Greater Stockholm: 7,053,000
Greater Gothenburg: 5,568,000
Greater Malmö: 5,099,000
Source: Svensk Mäklarstatistik
