Housing prices continue to fall in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Housing prices in Sweden dropped by 7 percent in the past three months compared to the same period last year, with the capital city, Stockholm, experiencing the sharpest drop, according to new figures from Svensk Maklarstatistik, which compiles data from the Swedish real estate agents.

Data released on Monday showed, while apartment prices across Sweden have dropped by an average 7 percent, the prices of villas have gone down by 3 percent on average. This represents the most dramatic drop since 2011.

"In the Stockholm region, the decline in apartment prices has been going on for a few months and now Malmo and Gothenburg have followed. In the villa market, too, prices are dropping," Per-Arne Sandgren of Svensk Maklarstatistik told Swedish Television on Monday.

While there is usually an upshot in apartment sales during spring, Sandgren said there are few signs of a rise in prices ahead. However, he said, the prices will surely level out eventually.

Fresh figures from the Valueguard Index also show a drop in the value of apartments and villas, with prices for both dropping by an average 2 percent, according to those figures. In Stockholm, however, apartment prices have dropped by 10 percent in the past three months.

"Today, it is harder than ever for those who are about to change residences on the housing market to get an idea of how prices will change in the future," said Claudia Wormann at state-owned SBAB, which offers loans and savings products to private individuals, tenant-owner associations and property companies in Sweden.

"Different theories of where the market is heading can be interpreted in different ways," said Wormann. "Some see this as a temporary glitch in the curve, others see it as the start of a long, downward trend." Enditem