Recovering Danish house sales ’close to pre-pandemic levels’
The number of homes sold in Denmark in June represents a return to pre-Covid 19 levels for the housing market after the boom during the pandemic.
A total of 7,704 houses were sold in Denmark last month according to new figures from Boligsiden.
The figure – the third consecutive monthly increase for the number of houses sold – is evidence that the market is now returning to pre-pandemic conditions as far as demand is concerned, even if prices are now higher than they were four years ago.
Last month’s increase in house sales, which was 4.7 percent higher than in May, means that the metric is 2.7 percent lower than the average for June in the years 2015-2019.
“We have seen an ongoing moderate growth in the housing market during recent months in which those who held off buying in the autumn and winter are now increasingly completing their house purchases,” housing economist and head of communication with Boligsiden, Birgit Daetz, said in a press statement.
“There is thereby a sprouting appetite for buying which is approaching the level for June sales from before the corona boom,” she said.
READ ALSO:
- Property market: What buyers in Denmark can expect over the coming months
- Why experts are surprised by Copenhagen's real estate market
“Essentially we are beginning to see more indicators that the property market is moving in a direction and in a tempo that is similar to the normal from before corona. That’s a positive trend after some unusual years – to put it mildly – on the property market,” she said.
The latest June figures also complete the data set for how house sales went for the first half of 2023. A total of 38,268 homes were sold in the first six months of this year, which is the lowest sales result for the first half of a year since 2014.
"Although a good number of homes were sold in June, the total sales for the first half of 2023 were at a relatively low level. This is naturally connected to the backlog from the winter months, when transactions were extremely limited," Daetz said.
"But there is no doubt that housing sales have again picked up compared to the second half of 2022, when 27 percent fewer homes were sold than in the first half of this year," she added.
A notable element of the sales figures is that of apartments in Copenhagen, where an 8.5 percent increase was noted between May and June. The total number of apartments sold in Denmark in the first half of the year was 7,608, the lowest since 2014.
“However, apartment sales are up 40 percent since the second half of last year and that indicates a stable growth in sales. For Copenhagen Municipality, apartment sales are up by as much as 73 percent from the second half of last year to the first half of this year, which must be said to be quite a comeback,” Daetz said.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Denmark’s new property tax rules from 2024
The Danish housing market saw a lacklustre start to 2023 with a prolonged phase of dwindling real estate prices, following on from high demand and rising prices during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Industry experts in the country generally expected the market in 2023 to be characterised by a sense of pessimism and falling prices.
Previous reports have suggested that apartment sale prices are more likely than houses to be influenced by forthcoming rules to property tax, which take effect in 2024.
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A total of 7,704 houses were sold in Denmark last month according to new figures from Boligsiden.
The figure – the third consecutive monthly increase for the number of houses sold – is evidence that the market is now returning to pre-pandemic conditions as far as demand is concerned, even if prices are now higher than they were four years ago.
Last month’s increase in house sales, which was 4.7 percent higher than in May, means that the metric is 2.7 percent lower than the average for June in the years 2015-2019.
“We have seen an ongoing moderate growth in the housing market during recent months in which those who held off buying in the autumn and winter are now increasingly completing their house purchases,” housing economist and head of communication with Boligsiden, Birgit Daetz, said in a press statement.
“There is thereby a sprouting appetite for buying which is approaching the level for June sales from before the corona boom,” she said.
READ ALSO:
- Property market: What buyers in Denmark can expect over the coming months
- Why experts are surprised by Copenhagen's real estate market
“Essentially we are beginning to see more indicators that the property market is moving in a direction and in a tempo that is similar to the normal from before corona. That’s a positive trend after some unusual years – to put it mildly – on the property market,” she said.
The latest June figures also complete the data set for how house sales went for the first half of 2023. A total of 38,268 homes were sold in the first six months of this year, which is the lowest sales result for the first half of a year since 2014.
"Although a good number of homes were sold in June, the total sales for the first half of 2023 were at a relatively low level. This is naturally connected to the backlog from the winter months, when transactions were extremely limited," Daetz said.
"But there is no doubt that housing sales have again picked up compared to the second half of 2022, when 27 percent fewer homes were sold than in the first half of this year," she added.
A notable element of the sales figures is that of apartments in Copenhagen, where an 8.5 percent increase was noted between May and June. The total number of apartments sold in Denmark in the first half of the year was 7,608, the lowest since 2014.
“However, apartment sales are up 40 percent since the second half of last year and that indicates a stable growth in sales. For Copenhagen Municipality, apartment sales are up by as much as 73 percent from the second half of last year to the first half of this year, which must be said to be quite a comeback,” Daetz said.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Denmark’s new property tax rules from 2024
The Danish housing market saw a lacklustre start to 2023 with a prolonged phase of dwindling real estate prices, following on from high demand and rising prices during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Industry experts in the country generally expected the market in 2023 to be characterised by a sense of pessimism and falling prices.
Previous reports have suggested that apartment sale prices are more likely than houses to be influenced by forthcoming rules to property tax, which take effect in 2024.
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