Weak Development in Housing Prices in October
Housing prices decreased by 1 percent in October 2023. Adjusted for seasonal variations, housing prices increased by 0.2 percent.
So far in 2023, housing prices in Norway have risen by 2.6 percent.
The average price for a home in Norway was 4,370,018 Norwegian kroner at the end of October.
-Housing prices declined by 1 percent in October, which is a weak development, even though the seasonally adjusted figures show a slight positive change. The seasonal adjustments in both September and October were significantly influenced by the particularly weak development in the autumn of 2022. Therefore, less emphasis should now be placed on the seasonally adjusted numbers, said Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Eiendom Norge.
-We anticipate a weak price development in the housing market in the last two months of the year. As it stands currently, the nominal housing price trend in 2023 is expected to hover around zero, he added.
-In the last month, there has been significant attention on the large number of unsold pre-owned homes in the market. The supply of houses is high at present, but the number of new houses in the market is decreasing due to substantial sales volume, remaining on par with 2022. We expect the number of unsold homes to decrease in the coming months, Lauridsen stated.
Continued Good Activity
In October, 7,762 homes were sold in Norway, representing a 2.7 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2022.
So far this year, 81,031 homes have been sold in Norway, a 0.1 percent decrease from the same period in 2022.
In October, 9,333 homes were listed for sale in Norway, marking a 10.7 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2022.
So far this year, 94,260 homes have been listed in Norway, a 2.3 percent increase from the same period in 2022.
-The activity in the pre-owned housing market remains stable, despite the shift in price trends over the last three months. This indicates a well-functioning pre-owned housing market, Lauridsen commented.
The average time to sell a home in October was 41 days, up from 40 days in September. Oslo had the shortest selling period, while Tromsø had the longest with 56 days.
Blind to the Housing Crisis
In October, Tønsberg m/Færder saw the strongest seasonally adjusted price increase of 1 percent. Asker and Bærum, Kristiansand, and Stavanger m/omegn experienced the weakest seasonally adjusted price decline of 0.8 percent.
The strongest development so far in 2023 has been seen in Kristiansand and Stavanger m/omegn with an increase of 6.7 and 6.4 percent, respectively.
The weakest development so far this year has been in Tromsø and Bodø m/Fauske, with a decrease of -0.8 percent.
-The housing price trends in Stavanger and Kristiansand this year differ from the rest of the country, and we anticipate these cities will continue to stand out by the end of 2023. Several years of weak to moderate development in these areas provide a basis for a stronger housing market now. The rest of Norway appears bleak in terms of price development, which further aggravates the ongoing crisis in the new housing market, Lauridsen mentioned.
-In October, the government presented its proposal for the 2024 budget, completely ignoring the crisis in the new housing market. There are no measures in the budget to stimulate increased home construction. This is paradoxical, considering we are currently facing the most significant housing construction crisis since the banking crisis of 1988-92, simultaneously dealing with the need for extra housing due to the influx of 1,000 new refugees per week, he added.
-With the sale of new homes at the lowest level in over 30 years, it indicates a weak development in the Norwegian economy and higher unemployment ahead in Norway's most vital mainland industry, the construction industry.
-If the government doesn’t take the crisis in the new housing market seriously now, we will grapple with the consequences for a long time, leading to increased inequality, weakened ownership, higher rental prices, and increased public expenditure on housing social measures. Urgent counter-cyclical policies are therefore necessary, Lauridsen concluded.
Additional Information:
Complete statistics can be downloaded from www.eiendomnorge.no.
Watch "Boligbobla TV" with the press conference from 10:30 to 11:30 here.
The press conference begins at 11:00. Before and after the conference, Head of Communications and Policy, Erik Lundesgaard, will have relevant guests from the housing market in the studio to comment on market developments.
Today's guests are CEO Martin Anmarkrud Kiligitto from Nordvik and city and area developer Silje Strøm from FagerStad Utvikling AS.