Finding a place to live is usually the toughest challenge faced by anyone moving to Sweden with work. Unfortunately for newbies, the property market in major Swedish cities has never been hotter. With rents sky rocketing and money still available cheaply, it often makes sense to buy rather than rent in Sweden, even for those recently arrived in the country. However, you really do need to do your research first.
Today we start the first in a series of tips about the property market in Sweden, starting with how to find out the actual sold price of properties or neighbourhoods that you are interested in.
What’s the best source of information?
The best single source of information about properties for sale or sold in Sweden is the website Hemnet. More or less all Swedish properties are advertised on this site and it’s compulsive viewing for anyone interested in property, which nowadays seems to be just about everyone in Sweden. Swedes spent a total of 36 MILLION hours on this website in 2016, or put another way, 11 years every day! Whether you want to find out how much a particular property on your street sold for or general prices in a particular area, you will find the information you need on this website.
Keyword
The keyword you need to know is “Slutpriser”. This means the final prices or sold prices; not to be confused with “slut prices” – there’s absolutely nothing casual about property prices in Swedish cities! You will find the option for “Slutpriser” if you click on “Bostadsstatistik” on the main menu. Alternatively, you can use the following direct link https://www.hemnet.se/salda/bostader.
What are your search options?
Hemnet offers a great array of search options:
- Graphically – By Google search Map
- By area (Område) – you can search by street address, municipality, town or city.
- By property type (Bostadstyp)
-Detached house (Villa)
-Terraced house/ non-detached house (Radhus)
-Apartment (Bostadsrätt),
-Holiday homes (Fritidshus)
-Plot of land (Tomt)
-Land/forrest (Gård /Skog)
-Miscellaneous (Övrigt) - By number of rooms (Rum)
- By size i.e. area is metres squared – (Boarea)
- By monthly fee (Avgift)
- By final price (Slutpris)
- By date sold i.e. sold within the last 3, 6 or 12 months (Såld inom de senaste)What do the search results show?
Your search results will typically show the size of the property in metres squared, the number of rooms, the final price and the date sold.
Handy feature
A very handy feature of the search result for “sold prices”is the addition of an arrow on the right hand side of the search result, beside the final price (slutpris). This arrow points up or down, showing if the final price exceeded or fell short of the asking price, all handily worked out in percentage terms and colour coded in green or red for increases and decreases respectively.
Red hot prices
A quick glance at the final property prices shows that advertised prices are often just a suggestion or guide price. Unlike property markets in many countries where sellers hope to achieve the price advertised, property in Swedish cities is often sold for well over the asking price.
Thinking about buying?
Check out our home finding service or book an introductory property consultation to get a clear understanding of what is involved in buying property in Sweden, including the process, costs involved, restrictions and what you need to look out for to avoid very expensive mistakes. For more information see https://relocatetosweden.com/en/relocation-services/preparation/homefindingservice/
For more property tips, don’t forget to follow us on Linkedin or Facebook or simply follow our blog.
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For more general advice on life in Sweden check out our expat blog
Relocate to Sweden provides expert advice and hands-on help for companies recruiting internationally or transferring staff to Sweden. We help your international recruits with the entire relocation process including immigration, home finding, tax consultancy, registration with Swedish authorities, schools, health care, translations, language and intercultural training. Email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 if you would like help. You can also read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice