Hemnet's Buyer Barometer August 2026: Price expectations continue to decline
7 August 2026
Homebuyers' expectations of rising housing prices continue to soften. Hemnet's latest Buyer Barometer shows that fewer people expect price increases over the coming six months, while the proportion of people who expect falling prices is increasing.
In August, 34 percent of surveyed buyers stated that they believe housing prices will rise over the next six months. This compares to 36 percent in July's survey.
At the same time, the proportion expecting falling prices increased from 12 percent in July to 14 percent in August.
Overall, this means that the net figure—the difference between the proportion expecting rising versus falling prices—stands at +20. This is 4 percentage points lower than in July and means housing price expectations have now declined for six consecutive months.
Share of buyers who expect:
- Rising prices: 33.9 percent (36.0% previous month)
- Falling prices: 13.5 percent (11.8% previous month)
- Unchanged prices: 52.6 percent (52.2% previous month)
Erik Holmberg, Market Analyst at Hemnet, comments: "Price expectations continue downward, likely influenced in part by increased concern over higher inflation and interest rates following the reignited conflict in the Middle East. At the same time, activity in the housing market has remained high and price development stable, even though the market has slowed somewhat since the spring. Our view is that the strong market will persist through the autumn, even if some uncertainty and dark clouds remain."
Hemnet's Buyer Barometer was sent to 3,152 respondents between August 1 and 2.
For more information, contact:
Erik Holmberg, Market Analyst Hemnet
M: +46 72-55 88 050
E: [email protected]
About Hemnet's Buyer Barometer: The Buyer Barometer is a survey where visitors to hemnet.se who are planning to buy a home answer the question: "How do you think housing prices will develop where you live over the next 6 months?". The survey has at least 600 respondents and is conducted once a month. The first survey was conducted in September 2017.
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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