Record sales and moderate price trends in 2019
House prices fell by 0.8 per cent in December. Adjusted for seasonal variations, prices rose 0.1 percent.
Home prices are now 2.6 per cent higher than one year ago.
- The moderate price trend in the housing market continued in December, and in 2019 prices nationally rose by 2.6 per cent. With the normal fall in house prices through the autumn, the national index is now at a lower level than in January 2019.
- With the start of 2020, we have now left behind two and a half years of moderate price development in the Norwegian housing market since the peak in March 2017. This is a development we expect will continue in 2020.
- Moderate house price developments are good news for the Norwegian economy and financial stability, says Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway.
Record-high activity
In December, 3,101 homes were sold in Norway, which is 4.7 percent more than in the corresponding month in 2018. So far in 2019, 2.8 percent more homes have been sold than in the same period in 2018.
In December, 3,211 homes were put up for sale in Norway, which is 2.7 per cent more than in the same month in 2018. So far in 2019, 2.6 per cent more homes have been put up for sale than in the same period in 2018.
- The 2018 records in the number of sales and the number of new homes on the market were beaten by a good margin in 2019, and in December a significantly higher number of homes were sold than in December 2018. The growth in the number of new homes on the market has slowed down, for example. something in the fall, and it will be exciting to follow how many new homes will come on the market in January, says Lauridsen.
It took an average of 71 days to sell a home in December 2019. That's an increase from 53 days in November. Oslo had the fastest sales time with 33 days and the slowest sales time had Stavanger / m environs with 95 days.
- Turnover time is stable and, on average, turnover time throughout the year has been higher than in previous years. This is naturally given the large supply in the housing market, says Lauridsen.
Regional price trends
Oslo's strongest seasonally adjusted price trend in December was 0.7 per cent higher. The weakest seasonally adjusted price trend was Asker and Bærum with a decrease of 0.6 per cent.
The strongest development in 2019 was Oslo with an increase of 5.5 per cent, while Stavanger w / surrounding area had the weakest development in 2019 with a decrease of 2.7 per cent.
- The market has been characterized by moderate price trends, large activity and smaller regional differences over the past two years, and we expect this trend to continue into 2020. Oslo has had a somewhat stronger rise in house prices in 2019 than we expected at the beginning of the year, while Stavanger has had a weaker development than we expected. The index for Stavanger is now at about the same level as in January 2011, says Lauridsen.
- At the beginning of 2020, there is less uncertainty associated with the drivers in the housing market than at the beginning of 2019. The mortgage regulations have been clarified for 2020, housing construction is at a high national level, population development is moderate and Norges Bank's interest rate path is flat following four increases in the key rate. Of these drivers, the greatest uncertainty is whether interest rate increases we have received over the past year are fully priced into the market, concludes Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway.