Swedish housing market fall off continues as prices fell by 17% in December 2022

Posted on January 9, 2023   |  

Home prices in the country are now down 17% since peaking in the spring, the worst slump for the market since the 1990s is close to a territory where the 20% forecasts by the central bank are starting to look unchanged. 

The central bank interest-rate hikes triggered a real-estate depression in many nations globally, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Home prices are also falling in Denmark, Norway, and Finland but at a much slower pace.

64% of people in the nation of 10 million own their homes but most don’t have long-term fixed-rate mortgages and the sudden rate hikes worsened the market’s woes, with the central bank bringing its key rate to 2.5% in November from zero in April. 

In December, home prices fell by 2%, which follows a 2.2% drop in November and 2.3% in October.

Prices for detached houses fell by 19% from the peak in the spring of 2022, while apartment prices fell by 14%. 

The drop in house prices compared to apartments is due to high electricity prices, which made it costly to heat single-family homes.