
About the industry
Our members serves an important function for Norwegian homeowners and the Norwegian economy.
Real estate brokerage is a professional process for buying and selling property in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
In order to operate a real estate brokerage business in Norway, a permit (license) as a real estate brokerage firm is required from the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority.
The real estate brokerage firm and the real estate agent must ensure that the transaction takes place in a safe and secure manner for both the seller and the buyer.
Qualification requirements
There are currently strict requirements for qualifications for a real estate agent.
The Real Estate Brokerage Act defines, among other things, that only persons who meet certain qualifications can call themselves a real estate agent.
The qualification requirement is a Bachelor's degree in real estate brokerage or a professional degree in law.
Education
In recent years, there has been growth in the number of courses and students in real estate brokerage.
Real estate education is currently offered under the auspices of BI in Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim, the University of Southeast Norway (Bø), the University of Nordland (Bodø), the University of Western Norway (Sogndal) and the University of Innlandet (Rena), as well as at the law schools at Norwegian universities.
Number of employees
Norwegian real estate agencies employ approximately 5,000 people.
This includes agents, lawyers, management and administrative staff such as settlement personnel and assistants.
Turnover
Figures from the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority show that in 2023, almost 136,158 properties were sold in Norway through real estate agencies or lawyers with a grant.
In the second-hand housing market, the vast majority of properties are sold through real estate agents. When selling new buildings, commercial property and holiday homes, real estate agents are normally used in connection with the transactions. In the rental market, the proportion of people using real estate agents is increasing.
The value of the properties that were sold in 2023 was almost 540 billion. This includes both residential and commercial property.
Several studies, including those from the OECD, show that Norway has one of the lowest transaction costs in Europe and the OECD area when buying and selling a home.
Complaints Board
According to the Real Estate Act of 2008, it became mandatory for everyone who operates a real estate agency to be affiliated with a complaints board. Together with the Norwegian Consumer Council, NEF, Eiendom Norge has its own complaints board for real estate agency services.
In 2023, the board handled 171 cases. 78 of these were cases registered in 2022, while 91 were cases registered in 2023, in addition there were two cases registered in 2021. These were put on hold pending the outcome of court proceedings against the seller for the same reasons. In total, the secretariat registered 286 cases in 2023, which is a decrease of 14% compared to the previous year. This is believed to be related to the decrease in the number of housing sales in 2022/2023.
Number of companies
At the beginning of 2024, almost 518 real estate brokerage companies were registered with a grant from the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority.
At the turn of 2023/2024, Eiendom Norge had 60 company members.
These companies had 760 offices/branches. The members account for approximately 98% of all housing transactions in Norway. In 2023, this amounted to 126,237 transactions.