(Bloomberg) — Sweden’s real estate agents expect no imminent reversal of one of the world’s biggest housing price declines that shaved some 15% off the value of homes in the Nordic country.
A quarterly survey by state-owned lender SBAB shows that 32% of respondents believe apartment prices will fall in the second quarter, compared with 28% three months ago. A majority of realtors still bet that the market will trend sideways, while seeing an uptick in supply that won’t be matched by a similar rise in demand.
The survey comes days before the next rate decision by Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, whose rate increases have been a major factor behind a deep slump in property values that have paralleled those in Canada and Australia, among others.
Swedish mortgage rates are typically changed with three-month intervals, which makes borrowers sensitive to policy shifts such as in the last year, when the Riksbank has taken its benchmark rate to 3% from zero.
SBAB’s survey shows that real estate agents expect a similar development for detached houses as for apartments, with 32% of respondents expecting price tags on single-family homes to drop, and 56% seeing a stagnant market.
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