33 per cent fewer new homes are sold

House homesHouse. Photo. Pixabay

33 per cent fewer new homes are sold

Since mid-August, 2,456 homes have been sold in Norway. That is 33 per cent fewer than in the same period last year.

 

The figures appear in the latest issue of the Econ Nye Boliger (New Homes) report, which is made by Socio-Economic Analysis every other month, according to Dagens Næringsliv.

Sales are particularly weak in Oslo, where so far this year, 48 percent fewer homes have been sold than at the same time last year.

Decline of 71 per cent

Chief economist Andreas Benedictow in Socio Economics says that it starts to be a lot of unsold housings in the capital and that the drop has been sharp ever since April.

– We register a drop from 616 to 180 new homes sold during the period. This results in a sales decline of 71 percent, he says to E24.

Since August, 18 percent of the new homes that have been for sale in Eastern Norway have been sold. In Northern Norway and Central Norway, the sales rate was 17 and 14 per cent, respectively. Western Norway and Southern Norway had the lowest numbers, with 13 and 10 per cent respectively. Among the counties, the highest sales rate was in Hedmark with 28 per cent and lowest in Sogn and Fjordane with 8 per cent.

Worried about the employment situation

The socioeconomic analysis report confirms the evolution that has emerged in the statistics by Home Manufacturers Association (Boligprodusentenes Forening). Last week, the association presented figures that showed that the number of new homes sold so far this year is 20 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

– We are worried about the decline in housing sales and the effects this will have on the Norwegian economy. Lower sales will quickly lead to the construction of fewer new homes, and the employment of construction companies and their suppliers will drop dramatically, says managing director in the association, Per Jæger.

 

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today