According to August figures from Svensk Mäklarstatistik, which collates data from the country’s estate agents, the price of detached houses was flat in the country compared to July, after rising 1 percent in Greater Stockholm, falling 1 percent in Greater Malmö and staying the same in Greater Gothenburg. 

“We are seeing a recovery in the market, with a few movements from side to side,” said Hans Flink, the head of business development at the statistics company. “When you take the country as a whole, we haven’t had negative figures so far this year. We’ve had rising prices since March.”

The picture was less rosy for cooperative apartments or bostadsrätter, where prices fell one percent in the country as a whole, despite rising one percent in Central Gothenburg. In Greater Gothenburg and Greater Stockholm prices fell one percent and they were flat in Central Stockholm, Central Malmö and Greater Malmö. 

“We have had a negative recoil for cooperative apartments for the second month in a row,” Flink said. “It’s normal that the more expensive cooperative apartments don’t sell in the summer months. You’ve got to remember that in Sweden you mainly move when you really need to, because you’re overcrowded in your house, change jobs or get divorced.” 

“In other countries a lot of people buy apartments to rent them out. You only buy a cooperative apartment because you want to live in it and those needs are there whatever the stage in the business cycle.” 

He predicted that the housing market would remain broadly flat in the coming months with the odd movement from side to side.