Well before moving we decided that it would be nice to have a house with a bit of a garden. But it’s hard (as well as risky and expensive) to buy a house from a distance. So we moved in to a borrowed apartment and will stay here while we look for a permanent home. As soon as we arrived in Stockholm, we started looking for one.
The Swedish market for houses is quite well-organised and efficient. Perhaps your pre-conceived notions about Sweden involve a belief that all of Sweden is efficient? It isn’t. The rental market is notoriously inefficient, with rent controls, decade-long queues, payments under the table etc. But luckily we are not looking for a flat to rent.
The process is generally straightforward and open. As far as I understand, it normally goes like this: The owner contacts a real estate agent. The building is advertised for sale. They arrange for two open viewing sessions: one normally on a Sunday, and the other one on a weekday evening during the following week. Potential buyers turn up on the Sunday, look at the house and talk to the agent. If they like what they see, they come back for the second viewing, this time bringing their family, friends and relatives for second and third opinions.
Buyers then start bidding. The bidding is normally open: each buyer’s bid is relayed to the seller as well as to all other buyers, who can then overbid them. The seller has the right to accept any bid, not necessarily the highest one, so the process can be finished even though people are willing to bid more.
When the seller accepts a bid, the seller and buyer sign a contract, and the buyer pays a down payment (about 10% of the price) to the agent. The time from viewing to signing can be over in a few days. While a quick process is convenient for the seller, it means that buyers have to make up their minds very quickly. You cannot go back and forth between two houses to compare them. You see the house once, maybe twice, and that’s it. Because of this, interested buyers start viewing houses well before they actually decide to buy, in order to get an overview of what’s available.
The upside of a quick sale process is that there is no nastiness like the English phenomenon of gazumping. This works because the sale is “subject to survey”: after signing, the buyer engages a surveyor who surveys the house. The agreement normally gives the buyer the right to cancel the deal if the surveyor finds something unexpectedly nasty.
If everything is OK the sale is formalised and registered, the full sum is paid, and the keys are handed over. There is also a 1.5% stamp duty to be paid.
Financing is normally arranged in advance of buying. The buyer gets a free “loan promise” from a lender, for a given sum, meaning that the lender promises to lend that sum to them. A promise like that is required in order to participate in the bidding process.
See also Buying a Swedish apartment: an auction by SMS and Getting a Swedish mortgage.
