Handelsbanken release their Property Report: Insights and Prospects

Handelsbanken, a BSCC Patron member, has released its report into the current Swedish property market which revealed that the last year experienced substantial nationwide changes. For home owners there was good news: the average detached house increased by approximately SEK 1 million compared to the previous year. However, those aspiring for larger homes, or planning to join the property market, face hurdles in metropolitan regions with 7 in 10 new homes needing to be built specifically in Sweden’s cities due to localised housing shortages.

The report also focused upon the trend of Swedes wanting larger homes as a result of having spent more time at home during the global pandemic. Whilst future long-term house prices will not increase as dramatically in the future, the imbalance between demand and supply for more spacious housing will continue to drive up prices. 2020 saw the average house price increase by around 20% but the polarisation between residential and commercial property values has been stark. Some sectors, such as groceries (up 8%), delivered a year of strong turnover growth but restaurants and fashion witnessed revenues plunge 20%- thus invariably impacting Sweden’s city centre/mall property portfolios. Another insightful aspect of the report has illustrated regional disparities in ‘working from home’ during the first quarter of this new year: Stockholm (56%) and Uppsala (46%) had the highest percentages of home-working residents. Alternatively, the rural counties of Dalarna (27%) and Norrbotten (29%) recorded much lower percentages of home-working. You can read the full report here.