Apartment prices climb in Stockholm

Online: http://www.thelocal.se/16860/20090112/

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After a few turbulent months, apartment prices in central Stockholm finally crept back upwards in December.

Apartment prices nationwide remained largely unchanged since November, according to Mäklarstatistik, a cooperative project run jointly by estate agencies Fastighetsbyrån, Svensk Fastighetsförmedling and Mäklarsamfundet (Association of Real Estate Agents).

"Statistics from December show a fluctuating residential property market, particularly in the case of apartments, where prices are going up and down," said Fastihetsbyrån's CEO Per Johnler in a statement.

"On the one hand, we have seen an increased willingness to buy in the wake of interest rate cuts. On the other hand, concerns remain about the financial crisis and jobs," he added.

In central Stockholm, apartment prices in December were up one percent on the previous month. The greater Gothenburg and Malmö regions also saw a turnaround in fortunes for apartment sales, with prices up 3 percent and 2 percent respectively, though apartments in the central parts of both cities fared much worse than outlying areas.

House prices meanwhile were down 2 percent nationwide on November rates.

In all, apartments shed 10 percent of their value in Sweden in 2008, while the price of houses dropped by 5 percent.