Analyse construction and housing market

In Sweden, the forms of tenure include the right to rent, the tenant-owner right and the right of ownership. In addition, there is a cooperative right to rent, which is used to a lesser extent. A large part of the housing production focuses on tenant-owner and the right to rent in multi-unit dwellings.

Forms of tenure

Ownership right

Almost all ownership rights are in single-family houses. It was not possible to build ownership apartments in multi-family houses until 2009. These represent only about 0.5 percent of the housing production.

Tenant-owner right

A tenant-owner right means that the tenant is a member of a tenant-owner association, which owns a property with apartments where each member has his or her own apartment. The tenant-owner right includes both a right of use of the apartment and a proportional right in the association. A tenant-owner right can normally be sold in the open housing market, but the buyer must be approved by the association.

Rental right

About half of Sweden's rental rights are owned by municipal public housing companies. They are usually the largest owner of the local market. Publicly-owned companies shall conduct business in accordance with commercial principles. Public Housing Sweden is the national organisation for the municipal public housing companies.

Most of the housing rents in Sweden are set by collective negotiations between landlords and a tenant organisation, usually the tenant association. The rents in the existing stock tend to be below the market rent at least in attractive areas, whereas rents in new production are often market-oriented.

Read about rent setting at Public Housing Sweden's website.

Cooperative rental right

A cooperative rental right is something in between a rental right and tenant-owner right. An association owns – or rents – a property and association members rent their apartments from the association. Upon moving in, some form of deposit is paid to the association, which is refunded when moving out. Accordingly, the apartment cannot be sold, but it is returned to the association when the member moves out.

Statistics on the Swedish construction and housing market

Population increased more than the number of homes

Sweden's population has grown at a high rate since 2006. The population is expected to continue growing rapidly. Metropolitan areas and larger municipalities have seen the largest growth, but most of Sweden's 290 municipalities have had an increase in population in the past ten years.

Read about population statistics at SCB's website

Number of homes completed and entering construction

The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, Boverket, continuously assesses the need for housing, for example how many homes need to be built to meet the expected population growth. This assessment does not, however, cover how large the demand is. The current assessment is available on the Boverket website.

Statistics Sweden presents statistics for how many homes were completed and for how many homes construction have begun. Here, information is also available on, among other things, rents, construction prices and homes that have not been rented.

Read about housing, construction and building at SCB's website

Housing prices

Estate agent statistics present average prices for housing in every municipality. Statistics are available for single-family homes and tenant-owner apartments.

Read about housing prices at Mäklarstatistik's website (Only available in Swedish)