logo
Property prices in Sweden fall 'more than normal for July'

Property prices in Sweden fall 'more than normal for July'

Local Sweden04-08-2025
Residential property prices fell by 0.7 percent in Sweden in July, according to new statistics from the state-owned mortgage lender SBAB. Although residential prices normally dip in June, July and August, this month's fall was "by quite a lot more than normal," Robert Boije, SBAB's chief economist, told the TT newswire
Advertisement
According to the SBAB Booli Housing Price Index, apartment prices were down 2.6 percent across Sweden compared to June, with the highest falls in Greater Gothenburg (4 percent) and Greater Stockholm (3.4 percent). Prices for detached houses rose 0.2 percent across Sweden, but were down 2.6 percent in Greater Stockholm and 0.7 percent in Central Sweden. The only region where apartment prices rose was in Northern Sweden, which saw a rise of 2.3 percent.
"The trend suggests that even if you take away the seasonal effect, we are seeing falling apartment prices, while for houses, prices are more or less flat," Robert Boije, SBAB's chief economist, said in a press release.
He said apartment prices over the whole of 2025 were now on track to fall by around 3 percent, while the price of detached houses is expected to remain stagnant. "If this happens, it will be a remarkable development given that mortgage interest rates have fallen sharply and households' real incomes and purchasing power are rising significantly."
He said the drop in apartment prices probably reflected recent rises in the monthly fee or 'avgift' levied by many housing cooperatives, rises which have lagged the underlying rise in interest rates.
"It is probably the gradually increased monthly fees – and perhaps expectations of future increased fees – in cooperative housing associations that we are now seeing reflected in both fewer apartments sold and lower apartment prices."
Advertisement
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Is autumn 2025 a good time to buy property in Sweden?
Is autumn 2025 a good time to buy property in Sweden?

Local Sweden

time2 days ago

  • Local Sweden

Is autumn 2025 a good time to buy property in Sweden?

Apartment prices may have fallen this summer but Swedish households still expect property prices to rise in the coming year. So what are experts saying? Advertisement Prospective home buyers looking to snag a property in Sweden might be interested to note that the cost of buying an apartment fell by 'quite a lot more than normal' from June to July, according to Robert Boije, chief economist with state-owned lender SBAB. The drop was most marked in the greater Stockholm and Gothenburg areas, with prices falling by 3.4 and 4 percent respectively. Northern Sweden bucked the trend, with apartments costing 2.3 percent more in July than the previous month. While apartment prices were generally down, the average cost of buying a detached house increased by 0.2 percent. According to SBAB's economist, aside from seasonal effects a reason for falling apartment prices could be the fact that many housing associations (Bostadsrättsföreningar - BRF) delayed increasing monthly maintenance fees while interest rates were rising. Even though interest rates have since fallen, bostadsrättsföreningar may still find they need to adjust fee prices upwards, said Boije. READ ALSO: How to analyse a Swedish housing association's finances before you buy an apartment Advertisement Record number of detached houses sold in July While there were fewer apartments on the market this year than last, the opposite was true of detached houses. Hans Flink, a business development manager for Svensk Mäklarstatistik, noted that a record 4,200 detached houses were sold in Sweden in July. 'If we take the period from January to July, only the pandemic year 2021 saw more detached houses sold. It's somewhat surprising,' said Flink, whose number-crunching organisation is fully owned by the Association of Swedish Real Estate Agents. Flink put the increased sales down to deferred demand. Back in 2022, rocketing inflation and sky-high energy prices led to many people putting their dreams of moving to a new house on hold. As for the drop in apartment prices, Flink was unconcerned, attributing the downward trend to recurring 'seasonal effects'. Advertisement Lower interest rate costs for mortgages Anyone considering taking the plunge on the property market will be interested to know that the average variable mortgage interest rate in Sweden dropped slightly to 2.83 percent in July, according to price comparison service Zmarta. Skandiabanken has the lowest variable rate of 2.73 percent, followed by Landshypotek with 2.76 percent. Ica-bank's rate was the highest at 2.92 percent, just ahead of Swedbank with 2.90 percent and Nordea with 2.89 percent. 'We can see that the earlier rate cut in May is now starting to show in mortgage rates even if there is a certain delay,' said Zmarta's economist Charlie Tideman. 'Because in practice variable rates are fixed for three months it can take a while before changes become noticeable for households,' he added. EXPLAINED: How to get the best deal on your mortgage in Sweden Households expect property prices to rise In general Swedish households expect property prices to rise in the coming year, according to SEB bank's property price indicator. The proportion of households predicting a price increase rose by two percentage points to 48 percent in July. Just 13 percent of households expect homes to become cheaper, a drop of two percentage points compared to the previous month. "This month's rise should primarily be seen as a stabilisation rather than a new upswing in house price expectations," said SEB economist Américo Fernández in a statement. Property experts will be watching closely to see how the market develops in August. In general property prices in Sweden increase in August before retreating somewhat from September to December. Based on SBAB's calculations for the year to date, and taking average seasonal adjustments into account, apartment prices for 2025 as a whole are expected to be three percent lower than the previous year. By contrast, the price of detached houses is expected to be unchanged compared to 2024. If this still holds true at the end of the year is will represent an unusual development, according to SBAB's Robert Boije ,given that interest rates have dropped considerably and consumer purchasing power has begun recovering after a protracted slump. READ ALSO: The ultimate guide to property in Sweden

Property prices in Sweden fall 'more than normal for July'
Property prices in Sweden fall 'more than normal for July'

Local Sweden

time04-08-2025

  • Local Sweden

Property prices in Sweden fall 'more than normal for July'

Residential property prices fell by 0.7 percent in Sweden in July, according to new statistics from the state-owned mortgage lender SBAB. Although residential prices normally dip in June, July and August, this month's fall was "by quite a lot more than normal," Robert Boije, SBAB's chief economist, told the TT newswire Advertisement According to the SBAB Booli Housing Price Index, apartment prices were down 2.6 percent across Sweden compared to June, with the highest falls in Greater Gothenburg (4 percent) and Greater Stockholm (3.4 percent). Prices for detached houses rose 0.2 percent across Sweden, but were down 2.6 percent in Greater Stockholm and 0.7 percent in Central Sweden. The only region where apartment prices rose was in Northern Sweden, which saw a rise of 2.3 percent. "The trend suggests that even if you take away the seasonal effect, we are seeing falling apartment prices, while for houses, prices are more or less flat," Robert Boije, SBAB's chief economist, said in a press release. He said apartment prices over the whole of 2025 were now on track to fall by around 3 percent, while the price of detached houses is expected to remain stagnant. "If this happens, it will be a remarkable development given that mortgage interest rates have fallen sharply and households' real incomes and purchasing power are rising significantly." He said the drop in apartment prices probably reflected recent rises in the monthly fee or 'avgift' levied by many housing cooperatives, rises which have lagged the underlying rise in interest rates. "It is probably the gradually increased monthly fees – and perhaps expectations of future increased fees – in cooperative housing associations that we are now seeing reflected in both fewer apartments sold and lower apartment prices." Advertisement

Everything you need to know about writing a prenuptial agreement in Sweden
Everything you need to know about writing a prenuptial agreement in Sweden

Local Sweden

time09-07-2025

  • Local Sweden

Everything you need to know about writing a prenuptial agreement in Sweden

A prenuptial agreement might not be the first thing on your mind when you get engaged, but it's worth knowing what they are and why they can be useful before you tie the knot in Sweden. Advertisement What is a prenuptial agreement? A prenuptial agreement – or äktenskapsförord in Swedish – is an agreement between two spouses that sets out the ownership of their respective assets. Essentially, the default when a couple marries is that all of their property is considered giftorättsgods, or marital property, which means that it is legally shared between them. That includes savings, any house or apartment they own, and any valuables like a car or a boat, for example. A prenuptial agreement states what – if anything – should be considered enskild egendom or personal property, which among other things can be useful if partners' finances differ considerably, or if certain property should be protected for inheritance by current or future children. This property would not be factored into any future divorce agreement. Why should I have one? It's obviously up to you if you want to sign a prenuptial agreement or not, but they can protect you – and your partner – if your marriage ends in tears. According to lawyer Pierre Kryhl, from Familjens Jurist, a prenuptial agreement is similar to an on/off button, allowing you to avoid the default fifty-fifty splitting of property if you get divorced. "A prenuptial agreement is a way to turn that off ‒ either with regard to everything or certain specific property," Kryhl told the TT newswire. He added that they can be especially important in situations where one or both of the partners already has children with a former partner. "If one of you has a child from a previous relationship then I think it's smart to think about [a prenup], because it affects what the child inherits and how it should be split up," he said. Advertisement What does it need to include? An äktenskapsförord needs to be in writing, dated and signed by both parties. Make sure to include your personal numbers, if you have them. There are no specific rules about what the contract should include, so it may be worth contacting a lawyer to be on the safe side. Many offer online services for writing an äktenskapsförord for a few hundred kronor, which may even be covered by your home insurance if legal help is included. Just search for äktenskapsförord and a number of different services should pop up. I'm already married – can I still write one? Yes. You can write a new prenup or change an old one even if you're already married – although you might want to broach the subject of writing one carefully with your partner so they don't get the wrong idea. What do I do when I've written it? You'll need to send the original document to the Tax Agency and pay a small fee of 275 kronor. When you transfer the money, include your names, personal numbers and the word äktenskapsförord. You can find out more about how to submit the document and where to send it on the Tax Agency's website. Advertisement What if I just cohabit with my partner? If you cohabit but are not married – referred to in Swedish as being sambos – then different rules apply. In this case, if you break up, the default is that property bought for shared use, like a home and household goods, is split equally between both partners, while things like cars, summer houses or bank accounts are considered private property (unless they were bought for both partners to use). This means it doesn't apply if one partner moved into a property already owned by the other. Many sambos choose to draw up a Cohabitation Agreement (samboavtal), similar to a prenup, if there are certain items they want to specifically include or exclude from the list of joint property. For example, if one person paid a greater share of the property price and wants to remain entitled to keep that, it might make sense to enter into an official agreement. This agreement doesn't need to be witnessed or registered, but it can be a good idea to prevent any disputes in the future. Note that any agreement becomes invalid if you later marry; then you're covered by the rules on marriage. The rules on inheritance are also different for spouses and sambos. If you're married, you inherit your spouse (apart from in some cases with children from a previous marriage, where they are entitled to inherit their parent directly), while spouses do not inherit their partner. One famous example of why this can be important is the conflict between author Stieg Larsson's sambo, Eva Gabrielsson, and Larsson's family, who automatically inherited his estate after his death. This prompted a lengthy legal dispute over these assets and particularly the copyrights to his books.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store