Foreign ownership of holiday homes

Large differences among the counties

The regional variation of foreign holiday home ownership 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. There are 12 counties where 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 greatest number of foreign-owned holiday homes can be found in Västra Götaland (7 436), Värmland (6 245), Kronoberg (4 706) and Skåne (3 755).

Owners mostly from Norway, Denmark and Germany

Owners come primarily from Norway (11 711), Denmark (11 025) and Germany (10 111). All of 88 percent of foreign owners come from these three countries. The fourth leading country of foreign owners is the Netherlands (1 393).

Norwegian ownership by far the largest

Of the countries that account for the largest ownership of holiday homes in Sweden, only Norwegian ownership increased in 2016. Last year Norwegians increased their ownership by 237 holiday homes, an increase of 2 percent. By contrast, the number of owners of holiday homes from Denmark decreased their ownership by 242 holiday homes in 2016, a decrease of 2 percent. It was the fourth consecutive year that Danes reduced their ownership of Swedish holiday homes. The number of owners from Germany remained relatively unchanged and the number of owners from the Netherlands decreased between 2016 and 2015. Ownership from other countries increased by 5 percent compared with 2015. Among these other countries, owners from Switzerland increased the most; their ownership of Swedish holiday homes increased by 40 holiday homes.

Germans bought first – Norwegians buy now

The number of foreign-owned holiday homes has increased by 19 370, or 107 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; 16 years later, this figure has increased to about 10 100. Danes were most active in the Swedish holiday home market in the period 2000–2008, but then began to decline; in 2013, their ownership decreased by 91 holiday homes, in 2014 by 154, in 2015 by 184 and in 2016 by 242 holiday homes. Although Norwegian owners’ ownership of Swedish holiday homes increased by 237 holiday homes, it was the smallest increase since 2000. Since 2000, the number of holiday homes owned by Norwegian and Danish owners has increased by 9 169 houses (361 percent) and 6 589 houses (149 percent) respectively.

Most foreign owners in Strömstad

The five municipalities with the most foreign owners are Strömstad, Tanum, Ljungby, Åre and Torsby. Only in these municipalities does the foreign ownership of holiday homes exceed 1 000 homes. There are 1 465 in Strömstad, 1 234 in Tanum, 1 137 in Ljungby, 1 094 in Åre and 1 074 in Torsby holiday homes 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 60 percent of the total holiday home stock is owned by foreigners, followed by Munkfors at 51 percent and Tingsryd and Älmhult at 49 percent each.

Expatriate Swedes’ ownership of holiday homes

Portugal is increasing sharply

In total, there are 13 063 holiday homes in Sweden owned by Swedes living abroad. Swedes living in Norway own the largest number of holiday homes in Sweden (2 706). This is followed by owners living in Germany (1 544), the United States (1 339), the United Kingdom (1 200), and Switzerland (1 066).

Expatriate Swedes living in Portugal account for by far the largest increase. In 2016, 332 homes had Swedish owners residing in Portugal, compared with 241 in 2015. This represents an increase of 38 percent.

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 2 553 holiday homes in Västra Götaland, 2 034 in Skåne and 1 618 in Stockholm. These counties also apply in all the countries reported in the table below, except for owners from Norway. Norwegians own most holiday homes in the neighbouring counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Jämtland and Dalarna, with emphasis on Västra Götaland and Värmland.

There are 28 municipalities in which expatriate Swedes own more than 100 holiday homes. Most of these holiday homes are located in Värmdö (467), Tanum (380), Norrtälje (341) and Båstad (335).