Danish housing market saw ‘significant’ growth in 2024

Denmark‘s housing market reported more than 85,000 transactions last year, which was ‘significantly higher’ than in 2022 and 2023, new data from real estate firm Nybolig has revealed.

House sales were up 11.3% compared to 2023, and 17.2% on 2022, with some 52,502 units being sold. Elsewhere, sales of condominiums were up 6%, year-on-year, and 19% on 2022.

Nationwide, prices were 5.2% higher for houses and 7% for condominiums, driven by a strong economy, rising real wages, high employment, and decreasing interest rates, Nybolig said.

Regional boost

Positive developments in the housing market were particularly notable in certain regions, with the Hovedstaden region seeing the price of owner-occupied apartments increase by 8.5%, while in the city of Copenhagen (consisting of the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Dragør and Tårnby) prices were up by 9.4%.

This was despite new housing tax reform that came into effect at the start of 2024, Nybolig added.

“When the New Year’s bells rang a year ago, it wasn’t exactly on the cards that 2024 would turn out to be a good year for homeowners,” commented Mik Kristensen, CEO of Nykredit Mægler, the head office of Nybolig.

“The uncertainty surrounding the new housing tax system was pronounced in several places. The year therefore got off to a somewhat shaky start.”

A ‘surprising’ year

However, since April of last year, both sales and prices have only moved in one direction – up. As Kristensen adds, this has been helped by the strength of the Danish economy.

“2024 has surprised us in every way,” he said. “We had expected approximately 70,000 transactions. With more than 85,000 transactions, we ended up significantly higher than that – helped along by house sales in particular, which over the past 14 years have only been surpassed by the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when home sales boomed.” Read more here.