Home prices are now 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

- The moderate price trend in the housing market continued in October. We expect house prices, which are normal for the last quarter of the year, to fall over the next few months, says Christian Vammervold Dreyer, CEO of Real Estate Norway.

Still high activity

In October, 9,184 homes were sold in Norway, which is 1.7 per cent more than in the corresponding month in 2018. So far in 2019, 3.4 per cent more homes have been sold than in the same period in 2018.

In October, 9,895 homes were put up for sale in Norway, which is 1.2 per cent less than in the same month in 2018. So far in 2019, 2.9 per cent more homes have been put up for sale than in the same period in 2018 .

- Like many previous months in 2019, sales records are also set in October. And accumulated for the year, there have never been as many homes sold by the end of October as this year, says Dreyer.

- Many used homes were put up for sale in October, and like the number of sales, there is a record so far this year as well, says Dreyer.

It took an average of 47 days to sell a home in October 2019. This is the same as in September and four days slower than in October 2018. The fastest selling time was Oslo with 25 days and the slowest selling time had Kristiansand and Stavanger / m surrounding area with 72 days .

- Turnover time is stable. On average, turnover time throughout the year has been higher than previous years, which is naturally given the large supply in the housing market, says Dreyer.

Regional price trends

Bergen had the strongest seasonally adjusted price trend in October, which rose 1.5 per cent. Asker / Bærum had the weakest seasonally adjusted price trend which fell1.2 per cent.

The strongest 12-month growth was Fredrikstad / Sarpsborg with 5.1 per cent, while Stavanger area had the weakest development in the last 12 months with a decline of 2.3 per cent.

- For a large part of 2018 and throughout 2019, the market has been characterized by moderate price trends, large activity and small regional differences. Although it may fluctuate in individual cities from month to month, this trend will continue mainly in October, and we expect it to continue in the months ahead, says Dreyer. 

Rental prices in the third quarter

Rents rose by 0.3 per cent in the major cities in the third quarter of 2019. In the past year, rental rates have risen by 3.5 per cent, according to Real Estate Norway's rental housing price statistics.

The metropolitan index shows that rents are rising at a moderate pace. While rental prices in the third quarter rose by 1.1 per cent in Trondheim and 0.1 per cent in Oslo last quarter, they fell by 2.3 per cent in Bergen and Stavanger / Sandnes.

Trondheim had the strongest rental growth in the last year with 6.8 per cent, while Stavanger / Sandnes had the weakest development with a decline of 0.2 per cent.

- Rental statistics show that rental prices in major cities have had a fairly similar development as sales prices nationally in the past year. Rents can fluctuate throughout the year, but the underlying trend in Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen is a rise in rental prices. In Stavanger, there has been a flat development in rental prices over the past year, and the rental price level is still far behind the levels before the fall in oil prices in 2013/2014, says Christian Vammervold Dreyer, CEO of Real Estate Norway.

The number of homes for rent on FINN.no in the major cities at the beginning of the third quarter is 3022. Of these, 1602 are in Oslo, 639 in Bergen, 340 in Trondheim and 441 in Stavanger / Sandnes.