Decline in housing prices in November
Housing prices fell by 0.6 per cent in November. Adjusted for seasonal variations, prices rose by 0.3 per cent.
House prices are now 6.6 per cent higher than a year ago.
The average price for a home in Norway was NOK 4,240,144 in November 2021.
- House prices in Norway fell in November, and with falling prices through the second half of 2021, house price developments now follow the normal economic cycle, says CEO Henning Lauridsen of Eiendom Norge.
- The 12-month growth also continues to decline and is at the end of November at 6.6 per cent. With a normal fall in house prices in December, this means that house price developments throughout the year will end somewhat lower than Eiendom Norge's forecast for 2021 of an increase of 7.5 per cent. A more moderate development in house prices is good news for the Norwegian economy and for the opportunity to become a homeowner in Norway, he says.
- In November, there was also a record number of sales, and we will almost certainly pass 100,000 sold second-hand homes in Norway in 2021 for the first time. The growth in the number of sales is particularly large in Rogaland, and after almost a decade of weak development, the housing market in this region is now healthy, says Lauridsen.
Record activity and fast sales time
In November, 8,508 homes were sold in Norway, which is 5.1 per cent more than in the corresponding month in 2020.
So far this year, 98,453 homes have been sold in Norway, which is 2.9 per cent more than in the same period in 2020.
In November, 7,569 homes were put up for sale in Norway, which is 8.6 per cent more than in the same month in 2020.
So far this year, 102,076 homes have been put up for sale in Norway, which is 3.4 per cent more than in the same period in 2020.
- After a slightly weaker growth in the number of sales and the number of new ones on the market in October, this has picked up sharply during November. Normally, few homes are sold in Norway towards the end of the year, but activity in November has been surprisingly high and we expect this to continue into December. As it stands now, 2021 will be a record year in the number of transactions in the housing market, says Lauridsen.
It took an average of 35 days to sell a home in November 2021, which is two days more than in October. The shortest sales time was Oslo and Drammen w / surroundings with 21 days and the longest sales time was Kristiansand w / surroundings with 51 days.
- It is very fast to sell a home in Norway now, and we return to 2016 to find an equally fast turnover rate in the housing market, says Lauridsen.
Bodø remains strong last year
Kristiansand had the strongest seasonally adjusted price development in November, with an increase of 1.7 per cent. Tromsø had the weakest seasonally adjusted price development with a seasonally adjusted decrease of 0.5 per cent.
Bodø / m Fauske had the strongest development in the last 12 months with an increase of 13.2 per cent, followed by Tønsberg m / Færder with 11.1 per cent.
Ålesund and the surrounding area had the weakest development in the last 12 months with an increase of 3.5 per cent, followed by Oslo with a 12-month growth of 4.1 per cent.
- The way the housing market is now differs in Bodø w / Fauske and Tønsberg w / Færder significantly from all other areas in the country and there are large differences in housing price development in different parts of the country, says Lauridsen.
Major changes in the Disposal Act from the turn of the year
In 2019, the Labor Party, the Socialist People's Party and the Socialist People's Party voted against the amendments to the Disposal Act which were promoted by the Solberg government.
Jonas Gahr Støre's government has now chosen to allow the amendment to enter into force from 1 January 2022, even though both the Labor Party and the Socialist People's Party in 2019 wanted to send the case back to the government for further investigation of the consequences of the amendments.
- Eiendom Norge is positive about the part of the change in the law that means that it will be stimulated to provide the buyer with better information about the home being sold, among other things through the use of good condition reports.
- However, we believe that the tool used to stimulate the seller to document the condition of the home is unfortunate, because it can lead to more disputes in the home trade, Lauridsen says.
- The increased dispute risk for the seller can be reduced by buying seller insurance, something we expect that most people who will sell a home after the New Year will do. But increased risk for the seller can also lead to a higher price for the seller's insurance.
- Although the costs of the housing trade may increase somewhat, it is important not to forget that transaction costs in Norway will still be among the lowest in Europe, Lauridsen concludes.