So far this year, housing prices in Norway have risen by 5.7 percent.

The average price for a home in Norway was 4,543,487 Norwegian kroner at the end of August.

- Housing prices increased by 0.4 percent in August, which is the weakest August in the history of housing price statistics. The interest rate hikes are now impacting housing prices," says CEO Henning Lauridsen of Eiendom Norge.

- We expect a weaker development in housing prices in the coming autumn, and it is not unlikely that we will see a similar trend in housing prices as we did last year. In the autumn of 2022, housing prices fell sharply towards Christmas, before reversing in January with the easing of lending regulations," he says.

- A weak development in used home prices will worsen conditions in the new housing market, where we are currently experiencing the weakest development since the banking crisis of 1988-1992. Therefore, Norges Bank must keep the interest rate stable, while Finance Minister Trygve Magnus Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) must abolish the lending regulations. With normal interest rates and a reduction in real debt, the rationale for the lending regulations has disappeared," says Lauridsen.

High activity

In August, 9,270 homes were sold in Norway, which is 2.6 percent fewer than the same month in 2022.

So far this year, 64,178 homes have been sold in Norway, which is 1.4 percent more than in the same period in 2022.

In August, 13,318 homes were put up for sale in Norway, which is 4.2 percent more than in the same month in 2022.

So far this year, 73,769 homes have been put up for sale in Norway, which is 5.4 percent more than in the same period in 2022.

- There are significantly more homes on the used market now than in 2022, and both listings and sales so far this year are at the level of 2019," says Lauridsen.

It took an average of 38 days to sell a home in August, down from 47 days in July. The shortest time to sell was in Oslo and Stavanger with 24 days. The longest time to sell was in Tromsø with 57 days.

Supply, Supply, Supply

The strongest seasonally adjusted price development in August was in Bergen, where prices rose by 1.2 percent.

The weakest seasonally adjusted price development was in Drammen and surrounding areas with a seasonally adjusted decline of 2.2 percent.

The strongest development so far in 2023 has been in Kristiansand and Stavanger and surrounding areas with increases of 10.4 and 9.7 percent, respectively. The weakest development so far this year has been in Tromsø with an increase of 2.7 percent.

-Next week, there are municipal elections in Norway, and real estate is an area where local politicians have a lot of power. What politicians choose to do or not do has a significant impact on the pricing in the housing market.

-Especially in the capital, the current city government has not delivered as promised in ensuring a large reserve of new housing through zoning. And rather, there has been a significant increase in processing times. Unfortunately, Oslo also tends to inspire the other major cities in Norway in this area," says Lauridsen.

- Only more home construction can give us lower home prices, and we will warn against the third housing sector that MDG, Rødt, and SV have advocated for. From our neighboring countries, we know that such a sector comes with a significant accumulation of social problems. The Norwegian ownership model is a great success and must be further developed, but then enough homes must be built. And that is the responsibility of the municipalities," concludes Lauridsen.

Additional information:

Complete statistics can be downloaded at www.eiendomnorge.no.

Watch Boligbobla TV with the press conference from 10:30 to 11:30 here.

The press conference starts at 11:00. Before and after the press conference, Erik Lundesgaard, Head of Communication and Politics, has relevant guests from the housing market in the studio commenting on market developments.

Today's guests are CEO Hedda Ulvness of Eie Eiendomsmegling and property developer Emil Paaske Agate Utvikling AS.