Real estate expert believes people will move back to Oslo after the pandemic

The Real Estate Association believes people will move back to the capital when the corona epidemic is over.

Unusually many people moved from Oslo last year, according to Statistics Norway’s (SSB) report on relocation in 2020.

The figures show that almost 44,000 people moved from Oslo last year. At the same time, more than 42,000 moved into the capital. Domestically, the relocation deficit was 2,800, but at the same time, Oslo’s net immigration amounted to 950 people. This gave Oslo a relocation deficit of about 1,800 people.

The last time Oslo had lower net immigration than the domestic migration deficit was in 2000, the SSB report states.

Carl O. Geving, CEO of the Norwegian Real Estate Association, told the newspaper Nationen on Monday that people tend to move from Oslo when prices rise quickly. 

They last experienced this in 2016, and it lasted until the beginning of 2017. From May last year until February this year, they have seen the same effect.

Corona trend

“We believe these are trends that are characterized by both inflation and the corona crisis,” he noted.

Last year, the population in Oslo increased by only 3,500 inhabitants. That is the lowest annual population growth since 2000. At the turn of the year, there were 697,010 inhabitants in the capital.

However, Geving believes that people will move back to Oslo when life returns to normal.

“Now you see that people live quite normally again as shops, restaurants, and hotels open up. I think many will return to the city because people are drawn to city centers, where there’s a lot of activity,” he explained.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayFinance

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