Hemnet’s Buyers’ Barometer February 2023: More homebuyers believe prices will rise
6 February 2023
Swedish homebuyers' price expectations continued to rise in February. Of the buyers surveyed in Hemnet’s monthly buyers’ barometer, 22 percent said they believe prices will rise over the next six months. That is an 8 percentage point increase from the January survey.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those who believe in lower prices has declined, with 43 percent saying they believe prices will fall. That is a 10 percentage point decrease compared to January and the lowest level since May 2022. The net value, the difference between the share that believes in increasing and decreasing prices, for February was - 21 percentage points which is the highest level since May last year.
Share of buyers who believe in:
Increasing prices: 22,4 procent (14,4% last month)
Decreasing prices: 43,4 procent (53,5% last month)
Unchanged prices: 34,2 procent (32,1% last month)
Erik Holmberg, Market analyst at Hemnet, comments:
“The distinct recovery of buyers' price expectations that we saw in January has continued in February. This is likely due to the fact that we are approaching the end of the Swedish Riksbank's rate hike cycle. The housing market has made a strong start to 2023, and in parallel we have seen rising prices on the stock market, indicating that optimism has returned to the market."
"Increasing price expectations means that buyers who were previously hesitating are now more ready to act. At the same time, it should be noted that there are still more respondents who believe in decreasing prices than those who believe in increasing prices. How interest rates will develop from here will be a key factor in the forward mobility in the housing market."
Price expectations peaked in March 2021 and turned steeply downward in May 2022 when the Riksbank changed its interest rate forecast. In November, the net number for price expectations reached its lowest level ever, but since then price expectations have somewhat recovered. In February, the net figure was 36 percentage points higher than at the historic low in November.
Hemnets Buyers Barometer went out to 2115 respondents during February 1 - 3.
Information to the editors:
Contact
Erik Holmberg, marknadsanalytiker Hemnet
M: +46 72-55 88 050
About Hemnet’s Buyers’ barometer
The Buyers barometer is a survey where visitors to hemnet.se who plan to buy a home answer the question “How do you think housing prices will evolve in your area in the next 6 months?". The survey has at least 600 respondents and is conducted once a month. The first survey was published 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’s is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘HEM’).