Foreign ownership and expatriate Swedes’ ownership of holiday homes in Sweden 2019
Norwegian ownership continues to increase
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2020-03-25 9.30
In Sweden, there were 37 740 holiday homes with foreign owners in 2019, which is a marginal increase compared with 2018. Swedes living abroad owned 13 249 holiday homes in Sweden. In 2019, 6.2 percent of holiday homes in Sweden were foreign-owned, while expatriate Swedes owned 2.2 percent of holiday homes in the country.
New method for measuring number of holiday homes
Statistics Sweden has changed its method of obtaining the number of holiday homes in the country. This change of method affects the total number of holiday homes as well as the number of foreign-owned holiday homes and the number of holiday homes owned by expatriate Swedes. For more information, see "Definitions and explanations".
Foreign ownership of holiday homes
Large differences among counties
Regional variation in foreign ownership of holiday homes in relation to the total stock of holiday homes is considerable. The percentage of foreign ownership is by far the greatest in Kronoberg County at 38 percent and in Värmland at 24 percent. In 12 counties, foreign ownership is less than 5 percent, and in the counties of Stockholm, Uppsala, Södermanland, Gotland and Västmanland, foreign ownership is less than 1 percent of the stock.
The largest numbers of foreign-owned holiday homes are located in the counties of Västra Götaland (7 702), Värmland (6 422), Kronoberg (4 571) and Skåne (3 511).
Foreign owners mostly from Norway, Denmark and Germany
Foreign owners come primarily from Norway (12 416 holiday homes), Denmark (10 386) and Germany (10 140). In total, 87 percent of foreign-owned holiday homes have owners from these three countries. The fourth leading ownership country is the Netherlands, with 1 342 holiday homes.
Norwegian ownership continuous to increase
Among the countries that account for the largest shares of ownership of holiday homes in Sweden, only Norwegian and German ownership increased in 2019. Last year, Norwegians increased their ownership by 177 holiday homes and Germans increased their ownership by 15 holiday homes. By contrast, Danish ownership decreased by 198 holiday homes in 2019. This was the seventh consecutive year that Danes decreased their ownership of Swedish holiday homes. The number of owners from the Netherlands decreased slightly, which meant that their ownership has decreased for six consecutive years. The group ‘other countries’ increased slightly. In the group ‘other countries’, owners from Switzerland increased their ownership the most, by 25 holiday homes.
Germans bought first – Norwegians are buying now
There are differences in the development of foreign-owned holiday homes for the three dominant countries Norway, Denmark and Germany since 2000.
Since 2000, Norwegians have increased their ownership by just under 9 800 holiday homes (384 percent) and Danes by just over 5 800 holiday homes (132 percent). German ownership has only increased by about 1 000 holiday homes (11 percent); this is because owners from Germany were the first to start buying holiday homes in Sweden and already had a large holding in 2000.
Most foreign owners in Strömstad
Strömstad, Tanum, Åre, Torsby, Ljungby and Årjäng are the six municipalities with most foreign-owned holiday homes. In each of these municipalities, more than 1 000 holiday homes are foreign-owned, with Strömstad at the top, 1 602 holiday homes.
In 19 municipalities, at least one third of the holiday homes have foreign owners. The largest share of foreign ownership of a municipality’s total holiday home stock is in Markaryd, where 57 percent of the total holiday home stock is foreign-owned, followed by Tingsryd, Älmhult, Eda, Munkfors and Uppvidinge with 45–47 percent each.
| County | Total number of holiday homes owned by natural persons | Of which those with owners from | Percentage of foreign owned holiday homes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Norway | Germany | Netherlands | Other countries | Unknown country | Total | |||
| Stockholm | 72 949 | 14 | 15 | 64 | 5 | 107 | 17 | 222 | 0.3 |
| Uppsala | 18 112 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 28 | 8 | 57 | 0.3 |
| Södermanland | 20 192 | 4 | 4 | 48 | 5 | 35 | 13 | 109 | 0.5 |
| Östergötland | 23 088 | 70 | 9 | 218 | 31 | 52 | 22 | 402 | 1.7 |
| Jönköping | 13 807 | 911 | 10 | 776 | 68 | 87 | 30 | 1 882 | 13.6 |
| Kronoberg | 11 978 | 2 999 | 14 | 1 300 | 87 | 120 | 51 | 4 571 | 38.2 |
| Kalmar | 31 446 | 563 | 36 | 2 003 | 116 | 138 | 81 | 2 937 | 9.3 |
| Gotland | 12 137 | 0 | 14 | 39 | 4 | 24 | 6 | 87 | 0.7 |
| Blekinge | 13 296 | 911 | 12 | 460 | 22 | 60 | 24 | 1 489 | 11.2 |
| Skåne | 44 629 | 2 516 | 90 | 593 | 40 | 197 | 75 | 3 511 | 7.9 |
| Halland | 25 155 | 1 165 | 37 | 466 | 17 | 62 | 27 | 1 774 | 7.1 |
| Västra Götaland | 77 620 | 535 | 5 030 | 1 562 | 130 | 286 | 159 | 7 702 | 9.9 |
| Värmland | 27 246 | 411 | 3 976 | 1 191 | 522 | 202 | 120 | 6 422 | 23.6 |
| Örebro | 14 854 | 37 | 25 | 226 | 54 | 44 | 16 | 402 | 2.7 |
| Västmanland | 9 725 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 41 | 0.4 |
| Dalarna | 44 764 | 133 | 374 | 350 | 84 | 134 | 27 | 1 102 | 2.5 |
| Gävleborg | 27 640 | 8 | 23 | 118 | 26 | 83 | 32 | 290 | 1.0 |
| Västernorrland | 25 023 | 13 | 55 | 176 | 32 | 138 | 39 | 453 | 1.8 |
| Jämtland | 31 577 | 44 | 1 448 | 223 | 51 | 115 | 28 | 1 909 | 6.0 |
| Västerbotten | 32 471 | 39 | 779 | 195 | 24 | 242 | 42 | 1 321 | 4.1 |
| Norrbotten | 29 211 | 11 | 456 | 110 | 17 | 420 | 43 | 1 057 | 3.6 |
| Total | 606 920 | 10 386 | 12 416 | 10 140 | 1 342 | 2 591 | 865 | 37 740 | 6.2 |
Further information on foreign ownership and presentation at municipal level can be provided on order.
Expatriate Swedes’ ownership of holiday homes
Portugal and the United States are increasing
In total, 13 249 holiday homes in Sweden are owned by Swedes living abroad. Swedes living in Norway own the largest number of holiday homes in Sweden (2 833). This is followed by Swedes living in Germany (1 604), the United Kingdom (1 261), Switzerland (1 113) and Denmark (1 001).
The largest increases relate to Swedes living in Portugal and the United States. In 2019, the increase for Swedish owners living in Portugal was 102 holiday homes, which represents an increase of 17 percent. Holiday homes owned by Swedes living in the United States also increased in 2019 compared to 2018. The increase was 101 holiday homes, corresponding to 12 percent.
Expatriate Swedes own most holiday homes in Västra Götaland, Skåne and Stockholm
It is most common for expatriate Swedes to own holiday homes in the counties of Västra Götaland (2,553), Skåne (1,939) and Stockholm (1,661).
There are 29 municipalities in which expatriate Swedes own more than 100 holiday homes. The municipalities with the largest numbers of these holiday homes are Värmdö (460), Norrtälje (394) Tanum (383) and Båstad (327).
| County | Total number of holiday homes owned by natural persons | Of which those with Swedish owners living in | Percentage of holiday homes owned by expatriate Swedes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Switzerland | United Kingdom | Germany | Denmark | Other countries | Unknown country | Total | |||
| Stockholm | 72 949 | 81 | 203 | 218 | 167 | 31 | 961 | 0 | 1 661 | 2.3 |
| Uppsala | 18 112 | 13 | 11 | 26 | 11 | 7 | 132 | 1 | 201 | 1.1 |
| Södermanland | 20 192 | 17 | 22 | 47 | 66 | 6 | 176 | 1 | 335 | 1.7 |
| Östergötland | 23 088 | 46 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 17 | 181 | 0 | 374 | 1.6 |
| Jönköping | 13 807 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 64 | 55 | 107 | 0 | 288 | 2.1 |
| Kronoberg | 11 978 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 71 | 150 | 72 | 0 | 336 | 2.8 |
| Kalmar | 31 446 | 64 | 53 | 49 | 131 | 61 | 243 | 4 | 605 | 1.9 |
| Gotland | 12 137 | 30 | 16 | 22 | 24 | 4 | 102 | 0 | 198 | 1.6 |
| Blekinge | 13 296 | 26 | 30 | 21 | 45 | 72 | 109 | 0 | 303 | 2.3 |
| Skåne | 44 629 | 119 | 240 | 252 | 275 | 299 | 749 | 5 | 1 939 | 4.3 |
| Halland | 25 155 | 76 | 65 | 47 | 93 | 80 | 277 | 1 | 639 | 2.5 |
| Västra Götaland | 77 620 | 985 | 189 | 217 | 241 | 79 | 839 | 3 | 2 553 | 3.3 |
| Värmland | 27 246 | 616 | 42 | 30 | 74 | 35 | 181 | 1 | 979 | 3.6 |
| Örebro | 14 854 | 35 | 10 | 23 | 45 | 13 | 93 | 0 | 219 | 1.5 |
| Västmanland | 9 725 | 19 | 11 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 99 | 1 | 167 | 1.7 |
| Dalarna | 44 764 | 174 | 57 | 72 | 59 | 29 | 253 | 2 | 646 | 1.4 |
| Gävleborg | 27 640 | 61 | 29 | 43 | 36 | 10 | 163 | 1 | 343 | 1.2 |
| Västernorrland | 25 023 | 47 | 16 | 30 | 46 | 12 | 167 | 2 | 320 | 1.3 |
| Jämtland | 31 577 | 179 | 23 | 28 | 24 | 14 | 154 | 0 | 422 | 1.3 |
| Västerbotten | 32 471 | 121 | 16 | 19 | 38 | 17 | 145 | 1 | 357 | 1.1 |
| Norrbotten | 29 211 | 90 | 7 | 18 | 30 | 8 | 210 | 1 | 364 | 1.2 |
| Total | 606 920 | 2 833 | 1 113 | 1 261 | 1 604 | 1 001 | 5 413 | 24 | 13 249 | 2.2 |
Further information on foreign ownership and presentation at municipal level can be provided on order.
Definitions and explanations
This statistical news defines holiday home as an assessment unit or taxation unit with no registered population that is assessed as building for agriculture, residential value less than SEK 50 000 (type code 113); building for agriculture, built (type code 120); one- or two-dwelling building, built (type code 220); one- or two-dwelling building, building on non-freehold property (type code 225); and one- or two-dwelling building, building value less than SEK 50 000 (type code 213).
News from 2019 publication of holiday homes
A type code has been added. It is building for agriculture, residential value less than SEK 50 000 (type code 113).
All assessment units, one- or two-dwelling building, building on non-freehold property (type code 225) are now considered holiday homes.
For agricultural units there is a further requirement that the agriculture is not active. As of 2019, only those units with agriculture-related business codes are counted as active agriculture, which means that fewer agricultural units are excluded.
The changes that have been made result in just over 24,000 more holiday homes for 2019 compared with the method previously used.
Statistics Sweden will publish new time series according to the new definition later this spring when comparisons can be made for longer time periods.
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 in these statistics is based on the country where the owner has their postal address, and only natural persons are included in the survey.
Expatriate Swedes’ ownership means that the owner responsible for reporting the holiday home in their tax return does not have a Swedish postal address, but does have a Swedish personal identity number. The country reported in these statistics is based on the country where the owner has their postal address, and only natural persons are included in the survey.
The information was retrieved from the 2019 Real Estate Tax Assessment Register (FTR) and refers to the situation on 1 January 2019. Statistics Sweden receives the Real Estate Tax Assessment Register from the Swedish Tax Agency.
The objects reported are assessment units or taxation units. Assessment units and taxation units are defined in FTR as that which is assessed or taxed independently and generally consists of property with a building and a lot.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.