So far in 2024, housing prices in Norway have risen by 8 per cent.

The average price for a home in Norway was NOK 4,814,968 at the end of June.

- House prices fell by 0.2 per cent in June, which resulted in a strong rise of 0.4 per cent seasonally adjusted. There is still a strong development in the housing market and so far in 2024 house prices have risen by as much as 8 per cent, says managing director Henning Lauridsen of Eiendom Norge.

- The house price development so far in 2024 has been strong and we expect the strong development to persist after a slight lull in July as is normal, he says.

- There are currently uncertain forecasts relating to when the first interest rate cut from Norges Bank will come. Some have also canceled an interest rate cut this year altogether. However, we believe that it will come down faster, as the interest rate path is often higher than what will be the reality. Furthermore, the development in the Norwegian economy is anemic during the day, partly due to the low level of housing construction. Therefore, we believe that the interest rate will fall, which will provide a stimulus in the second-hand housing market and the new housing market.

Large number sold

In June, 11,329 homes were sold in Norway, which is 0.8 per cent more than the corresponding month in 2023.

So far this year, 53,095 homes have been sold in Norway, which is 4 per cent more than in the same period in 2023.

In June, 11,758 homes were put up for sale in Norway, which is 8.8 percent fewer than in the same month in 2023.

So far this year, 58,537 homes have been put up for sale in Norway, which is 2.7 per cent more than in the same period in 2023.

- Many homes were both sold and advertised in Norway in June. Only the pandemic year 2021 beats the sales volume in the second-hand housing market so far this year. This is evidenced by a strong market, says Lauridsen.

It took an average of 41 days to sell a home in June, down from 44 days in May. Bergen had the shortest sales time with 20 days. Tromsø had the longest sales time with 71 days.

Differences in price trends

Tromsø had the strongest seasonally adjusted price development in June, with a seasonally adjusted increase of 1.8 per cent.

Tønsberg m/Færder had the weakest seasonally adjusted price development in May, with a seasonally adjusted decrease of 1.2 per cent.

The strongest development so far in 2024 is Ålesund and its surroundings with 11.4 per cent. The weakest development so far this year is Fredriksstad/Sarpsborg, with an increase of 5.4 per cent.

- At the end of June, Bergen, Stavanger and Ålesund stand out with double-digit growth, says Lauridsen.

The government and SV could use much more money
In the state budget 2023, the government's forecast for housing investment for 2024 was minus 4 per cent after a fall of over 15 per cent in 2023.

- In the revised budget in May, the government adjusted this up to minus 16.1 per cent. In practice, this means that the arrangement in the budget this autumn was not adapted to the situation in the economy, says Lauridsen.

- It also means that the model used by the Ministries of Finance to calculate housing investment has significant weaknesses as a management tool, and that the government has received the wrong decision-making basis from the civil service.

- In SV's budget agreement with the government, an increase of 3 billion was granted in the loan limit for Husbanken. This is incredibly small when housing investment has fallen by NOK 60-70 billion since 2022 and will fall further in 2025. Both the government and SV could use significantly more money to stimulate housing construction, given the size of the setback.

- A poor response to the crisis now will only backfire on ourselves. We will experience a strong setback in the Norwegian economy triggered by the fall in housing investment and we will experience a significant increase in housing prices in the near future because the supply of housing will be too small. Both the government and SV could do significantly more to stimulate housing construction, concludes Lauridsen.

Note that Eiendom Norge today also releases our regional report for K2 2024, which shows developments in the housing market in seven regions and 115 municipalities/districts in Norway.