Why most Norwegians own their own home

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Almost 80% of people in Norway own their own home.

Self-owning has been official policy in Norway since the 1950’ies. During the next decades there was a big development of what we call social housing construction in the whole country.  Organizations like OBOS – the biggest housing cooperative organisation in Europe, and other local organisations were established in most cities.  They cooperated with the municipalities who made plots and areas available.

The State Housing bank gave mortgages to both builders and private people to finance the home building.

The taxation of property has always been very low in Norway, and you also get tax-deduction when you are paying interest on mortgage. (Today 22% tax deduction)

And there are no taxation on the gain when selling your home.

Until 1983 sales prices were regulated.  When the regulations were repealed, there were no way back. From that time, it was all about the market!

The market regulations have functioned quite well for most people.  The prices have been rising and people have been able to use their property values to ” climb up the housing ladder”.

Lately we have seen that some people have not been able to buy their own home, because of the requirements for equity and lack of ability to pay the cost of a mortgage.  Almost 50% of first-time buyers gets help from their parents to buy their own home.  The percentage of self-owners have decreased a little bit lately. And many experts doubt whether we will be able to keep up the big share of self-ownership, what we call the Norwegian Housing model,  in the future. Even if it is a goal for all political parties.

Because of the self-own policy, the rental market is not as safe for tenants as we could wish for.  As a tenant you are depending on renting from private self-owners on a 3-year contract.  And you will not get any of the tax advantages that self-owners have.  Therefore it is not regarded very attractive to rent your home in Norway.

Read about the rental system in Norway here

As a home buying consultant I strongly recommend all people who ca to afford it, to buy their own home.  It is both safe and profitable. It is my impression that people from other countries that settle in Norway, also after some time, are eager to buy their own home. They experience the economic benefits that comes with self owning, and what most of their their Norwegian friends and colleagues do.

Can you trust the bidding and home sale system in Norway.  Find the answer here. 

It is of course not completely without risk buying a home in Norway. The market goes up and down and it is important to buy a property without errors and omissions.  You should have a 3 -5 years perspective on the purchase, and get help to secure that you are paying the correct market price.
And be aware of the buyers duty of inspection.  It is essential that you can read and understand all the sales information.  Therefore, if you are an English speaker, I strongly recommend that you get help from a home buying consultant (like me:)

Want to know more? 

Download my booklet about home buying in Norway. 

 

 

 

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The difference of purchasing projected (not yet build) homes and second-hand homes in Norway

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In Norway, as I guess in many other countries we have to different markets for home buying. The second hand housing market and project or new housing market.

In the second-hand market people’s houses and apartments are sold with the help of real estate agents.  It is also allowed to sell one’s property without a realtor, but 99% is using one.

When it comes to the projected, not yet build homes, they are sold by the builders.  They are using real estate agents too, mostly. They are often specialised in sale of projected homes. Sometimes the builders also use their own employees.

Two different laws are regulating the sale and delivery of the homes:

The Home Building Act (Bustadoppføringslova) for projected homes and the Alienation Law (Avhendingsloven) for the second hand homes.

In addition, we have the Real Estate Law that clarifies the responsibility of the real estate agent.

This means that the sale of properties is quite regulated.  The different laws places responsibility on the seller, either a private person or the builder, the buyer and the realtor.

The laws are so called  consumer laws which are intended to protect the consumer

The projected homes are more expensive (20 to 25%) than the second hand homes, because they are modern and built according to the latest building regulations and does not require maintenance for many years.

When you buy a home that is not yet build you have to rely on the information and illustrations from the builders or their real estate agent.  They often have models and visiting centre where they are showing the standard of the interior, the sun conditions and the view from the apartment.  Or maybe they have a prototype of a house to show you.

If you want to look for a projected property in Norway, you can use this website:

https://www.finn.no/realestate/newbuildings/search.html?sort=PUBLISHED_DESC

The second hand homes are listed on this website:

https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/search.html?sort=PUBLISHED_DESC

Be aware of the buyers duty of inspection

Either you want to buy a brand new home or a second hand home in Norway, you have to be aware that the bid is binding and the buyers duty of inspection.

The home buying in Norway is quite complicated for the buyer and as a buyer you have a big responsibility to check the sales material and the property itself before bidding.  The bid is binding and there are no regrets. This is called the buyers duty of inspection and are regulated by law.  It is valid for purchase of second hand homes as well as for projected homes.

Luckily, I have been working with both  selling and buying of both second hand and projected homes in my 40 year career in the housing industry.  Therefore, I am qualified to help with the purchase of all kinds of homes.  This is a good thing since the approach and legislation is quite different.

The housing market right now (February 2023)

The housing market right now (February 2023) is quite slow compared to the crazy years of the Pandemic.  But second-hand homes are sold quite easily, with slighter lower prices.

When it comes to projected homes there have been an abrupt stop and a number of planned projects have been postponed.

The projected homes are mostly sold to fixed prices, they are no bidding rounds.  But it is not easy to negotiate a lower price.  The builders prefer to sit on the properties when they are finished, and wait for better times.

If the projects are stopping for a long time, it will probably have a bad influence on the second hand market, especially in big cities like Oslo.  Then there is a change that the prices for on the second hand market will rice fast again.

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Interesting news about the housing market in Norway

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This September we have seen quite significant changes in the home buying market in Norway.

Therefore I have to write about the market and housing prices – AGAIN.

Hope you are OK with it.

After all, to keep oneself updated on the market is a big factor for achieving a successful purchase!

Two important factors implicate a development towards a buyers’ market this autumn:

  • Decrease in prices with 2,2 % in Oslo – 2,5% in september
  • More houses up for sale in september – 17% more than last year

Falling prices are expected for the rest of the year and probably also in 2023.  Then it will start to increase again according to the forecasts. The sales volume is now back on pre pandemic level.

The reason for the decrease in  prices is obviously the increased mortgage interest and increase in prices on electricity and other living costs.

A buyers’ market is good news if you are buying a home in Norway for the first time.

If you already have a property to sell and want to buy a new one, and your mix of equity of mortgage is comfortable, there is no reason why you should not buy a new home now, if you feel it is needed.

Just remember the rule – Sell and buy in the same market

Timing is everything

Download my booklet about home buying in Norway for free here

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The home buying market in Norway right now

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The economy in Norway, as in a lot of other countries, are in a strange situation right now. We experience all time soaring prices in food and energy prices. At the same time, we must cool down the economy by raising the mortgage interests. So far this has not affected the prices of homes very much. August had rising prices in most part of the countries, in average they increased with 1,9%. The number of homes for sale the market has increased in august and will continue to increase. This is good news for the buyers, because lack of homes for sale usually means that the bids increase to very high levels. As you probably know we are practising open bidding rounds according to the auction principle in Norway.

It is expected that the home prices will decrease this fall when people feel the effect of interest rate effects. And the banks’ lending policy will change according to higher interest rates. They are obliged to stress test that the customer can manage a 5% increase of interest. That means that people will get less money for their home buying and the bidding rounds will become much cooler.

Norwegian Home buyers are financing their home buying in all essentials by bank mortgages. Read more about home buying financing in Norway here.

Big drop in the sale of cottages.

Norwegian people are crazy about cottages or “hytta” as we called it. Many people even have two cottages, me included. If you do not own one yourself, you may have access to one through your family. During the pandemic, the cottage sales were extremely high, both in volume and price. Now the sale has dropped by 45% – in volume. But not yet in price. But at some point, close to now, I think we will see a drop in prices too. So, if you are planning to buy a cottage in Norway this fall will be a good opportunity. And please ask me for help. The buying process is the same as for homes and there I am an expert. And as a cottage lover and user I have a good pulse on the holiday home market.

Sorry about all the economic talk in this blog. But in Norway the housing market is so depended on the economy in general. It will serve you well to follow to keep yourself updated on the market.

If you download my booklet about home buying in Norway you will get my tips about home buying and market updates direct in your inbox.

And I will do what I can do keep you in the loop here on the blog!

Best wishes

 

 

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