Extra high demand for smaller apartments ahead of autumn

The past ten years have been characterized by major fluctuations in the housing market. Credit restrictions, the pandemic, and rapidly rising interest rates have affected both household purchasing power and demand—and the effects have varied across different types of apartments.

A clear trend during this period has been that larger apartments have performed significantly stronger than smaller ones. Above all, one-room apartments have lagged behind price-wise, while apartments with four or more rooms have enjoyed considerably stronger price growth.

Ten years ago, the average price of an apartment with four or more rooms was 1.96 times higher than the price of a one-room apartment. A year ago, that ratio had risen to 2.62. The gap between small and large apartments has therefore increased markedly.

This is also evident in the trend for prices per square meter. Between 2015 and 2025, the price per square meter for one-room apartments rose by 13 percent. For apartments with four or more rooms, the increase during the same period was 47 percent. But now there are signs that the trend has turned.

So far this year, prices for one-room apartments have risen by 6.7 percent, compared to 2.2 percent for apartments with four or more rooms. After several years of weaker performance, smaller apartments are beginning to make up some of the lost ground. Consequently, the price ratio between large and one-room apartments has decreased from 2.62 a year ago to 2.49 today.

Now that the apartment market is picking up in earnest after the summer, smaller apartments enter the autumn with stronger relative price growth. This breaks the pattern seen during much of the past decade, when larger apartments gradually pulled ahead.

Hemnet's market analyst Erik Holmberg comments:

"Over the past ten years, larger apartments have generally performed significantly better price-wise than smaller homes. Credit restrictions and shifted demand during the pandemic are two key explanations for this trend. Now, however, we are seeing a shift, where one-room apartments in particular are performing relatively stronger and starting to narrow the price gap built up in recent years. This is likely primarily an effect of the eased credit restrictions this past spring."

Apartment Price Levels and Price Trends

Prices for 2026 cover data up to and including week 34, as does the comparison with 2025.

For more information, contact:
Erik Holmberg, Market Analyst Hemnet
M: +46 72-55 88 050
E: [email protected]

About Hemnet
Hemnet operates the leading property platform in Sweden. The company emerged as an industry initiative in 1998 and has since transformed into a "win-win" value proposition for the housing market. By offering a unique combination of relevant products, insights and inspiration, Hemnet has built lasting relationships with buyers, sellers, and agents for more than 20 years. Hemnet shares a mutual passion for homes with its stakeholders and is driven by being an independent go-to-place for people to turn to for the various housing needs that arise through life. This is mirrored in the Company’s vision to be the key to your property journey, supplying products and services to improve efficiency, transparency and mobility on the housing market. Hemnet is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘HEM’).

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