Foreign ownership of holiday homes

Large differences among the counties

The regional variation of foreign ownership of holiday homes in relation to the total stock of holiday homes is significant. Foreign ownership is by far the greatest in Kronoberg County at 40 percent, but is also significant in Värmland at 24 percent, in Jönköping at 15 percent and in Blekinge at 12 percent. In 12 counties, foreign ownership is less than 5 percent, and in Stockholm, Uppsala, Södermanland, Gotland and Västmanland, foreign ownership is less than 1 percent of the stock.

The largest number of foreign-owned holiday homes can be found in Västra Götaland (7 488), Värmland (6 292), Kronoberg (4 630) and Skåne (3 640).

Foreign owners mostly from Norway, Denmark and Germany

Foreign owners come primarily from Norway (11 883), Denmark (10 747) and Germany (10 038). In total, 88 percent of foreign owners come from these three countries. The fourth leading country of foreign owners is the Netherlands (1 355).

Norwegian ownership by far the largest

Among the countries that account for the largest ownership of holiday homes in Sweden, only Norwegian ownership increased in 2017. Last year, Norwegians increased their ownership by 172 holiday homes, an increase of 1.5 percent. By contrast, the number of owners of holiday homes from Denmark decreased their ownership by 278 holiday homes in 2017, a decrease of 2.5 percent. It was the fifth consecutive year that Danes decreased their ownership of Swedish holiday homes. The number of owners from Germany, the Netherlands and the group ‘other countries’ decreased slightly between 2017 and 2016. However, in the other countries group, owners from Switzerland and Austria increased their ownership.

Germans bought first – Norwegians buy now

The number of foreign-owned holiday homes has increased by 19 183, or 106 percent, since 2000. Owners from Germany were the first to begin buying holiday homes in Sweden, and by 2000 there were about 9 000 Swedish holiday homes owned by Germans; 17 years later, this figure has increased to about 10 000. Danes were most active in the Swedish holiday home market in the period 2000–2008, but then began to decline. With the 2017 decrease, Danes have reduced their ownership for five consecutive years. The total reduction in these five years is 949 holiday homes, which is a decrease of 8 percent. Although Norwegian owners’ ownership of Swedish holiday homes increased by 172 holiday homes, it was the smallest yearly increase since 2000. Since 2000, the number of holiday homes owned by Norwegian and Danish owners has increased by 9 341 houses (367 percent) and 6 311 houses (142 percent), respectively.

Most foreign owners in Strömstad

Strömstad, Tanum, Åre, Ljungby and Torsby are the five municipalities with the most foreign owners. In these municipalities alone, foreign ownership of holiday homes exceeds 1 000 homes. There are 1 526 in Strömstad, 1 269 in Tanum, 1 122 in Åre, 1 117 in Ljungby and 1 098 holiday homes in Torsby owned by foreigners.

In 21 municipalities, at least one third of the holiday homes are owned by foreigners. The largest foreign ownership in relation to the municipality’s total holiday home stock is in Markaryd, where fully 58 percent of the total holiday home stock is owned by foreigners, followed by Tingsryd at 49 percent and Munkfors and Älmhult at 48 percent each.

Expatriate Swedes’ ownership of holiday homes

Portugal is increasing sharply

In total, there are 12 907 holiday homes in Sweden owned by Swedes living abroad. Swedes living in Norway own the largest number of holiday homes in Sweden (2 743). This is followed by owners living in Germany (1 536), the United Kingdom (1 203), the United States (1 187), and Switzerland (1 058).

Expatriate Swedes living in Portugal account for by far the largest increase. In 2017, 424 holiday homes had Swedish owners residing in Portugal, compared with 332 in 2016 and 241 in 2015. This represents an increase of 76 percent between 2015 and 2017.

Expatriate Swedes own most holiday homes in Västra Götaland, Skåne and Stockholm

Most holiday homes owned by Swedes living abroad are located in Västra Götaland, Skåne and Stockholm. Swedish owners living abroad own 2 519 holiday homes in Västra Götaland, 1 950 in Skåne and 1 579 in Stockholm. These three counties also apply in all the countries, except for Norway, reported in the table below. Norwegians own most holiday homes in the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Jämtland and Dalarna, with emphasis on Västra Götaland and Värmland, adjacent to the Norwegian border.

There are 28 municipalities in which expatriate Swedes own more than 100 holiday homes. Most of these holiday homes are located in Värmdö (461), Tanum (378), Norrtälje (356) and Båstad (322).