In total, there are 607 000 holiday homes in the country, according to 2019 figures from Statistics Sweden. Among these, 62 percent of the owners live in another municipality. Another 38 000 family homes, corresponding to 6 percent, have foreign owners, while 2 percent are owned by Swedes living abroad.

“Many owners not only cross a municipal border to reach their holiday home, 199 000 also cross a county border. This corresponds to one-third of all holiday home owners,” says Stefan Svanström, expert on geographical information systems at Statistics Sweden.

Many holiday homes along the coast

Half of the holiday homes are located in Sweden’s coastal municipalities. This is also where the largest percentage of holiday homes with owners in other municipalities are located.

“Borgholm on Öland is the municipality with the largest percentage of holiday homes with owners from other municipalities, at 90 percent. Öland’s southern municipality Mörbylånga is a close second, in which 88 percent of holiday homes have owners from other municipalities,” says Stefan Svanström.

In the archipelago municipalities of Tjörn, Orust, Sotenäs, Öckerö, and Lysekil on the west coast, 82 to 87 percent of holiday homes have owners from other municipalities.

In Skåne, 85 percent of holiday homes in Båstad have owners from other municipalities. Municipalities in Österlen also have a large percentage of owners living elsewhere.

In Stockholm’s southern archipelago, in the northern archipelago municipalities of Norrtälje, Östhammar, and Tierp, and in large parts of Södermanland, 75 percent of holiday home owners live in other municipalities.

Among all holiday home along the coasts, three percent have foreign owners. Among holiday homes in municipalities in the interior, foreign ownership accounts for nine percent.

In 193 municipalities, 50 percent or more of holiday home owners live in another municipality.

Three countries top the list

Gotland has the largest percentage of holiday home owners who live in other counties, almost three in four owners have to take the ferry or a flight to their holiday home. In Södermanland, 68 percent of the owners live in another county and in Halland this figure is 65 percent.

The highest percentage of holiday homes with foreign owners, just under 40 percent, is in Kronoberg County.

“Most of these holiday home owners are Danes or Germans. The most common foreign owner of holiday homes in Sweden comes from Denmark, Germany or Norway,” says Stefan Svanström.

In Värmland, almost one in four holiday homes have foreign ownership. Among the 6 400 foreign-owned holiday homes, Norwegian ownership accounts for just over 60 percent.

Just over 13 000 holiday homes in Sweden are owned by Swedes living abroad. The largest percentage of these holiday homes, four percent, is located in Skåne.

The Excel file contains statistics on holiday homes in all municipalities.

In Statistics Sweden’s new map tool, you can look at owner distribution in any municipality or county, and compare with others. The tool is most compatible with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.

Facts: Holiday homes

Holiday home refers to an assessment unit or taxation unit with no registered population that is assessed as a building for agriculture with a one- or two-dwelling building or with a residential value less than SEK 50 000; a one- or two-dwelling building, built; building on non-freehold property or with a building value less than SEK 50 000.

Foreign ownership means that the owner responsible for reporting the holiday home in their tax return has neither a Swedish postal address nor a Swedish personal identity number. The owner country reported is where the owners have their addresses and only natural persons are included in the survey.

Foreign ownership means that the owner responsible for reporting the holiday home in their tax return has neither a Swedish postal address nor a Swedish personal identity number. The country reported is where the owners have their addresses and only natural persons are included in the survey.

All data refers to 2019.

Links

Read more articles at scb.se on how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting society

Statistics Sweden - Norwegian ownership continues to increase

Statistics Sweden’s map tool (Most compatible with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.)

Holiday homes, by municipality (Excel file)