– Fortunately, we now see somewhat more optimism in the market

– It is still a demanding market. The interest rate cuts are taking a long time and it is difficult for customers to get financing. Despite the relatively weak sales, we are satisfied with the financial result in the first quarter, says Hilde Vatne, managing director of JM Norge in a press release on Friday.

She adds:

– Fortunately, we now see somewhat more optimism in the market and the price level in the second-hand market increased throughout the first quarter. Norges Bank has signaled that the interest rate peak has been reached and the market expects interest rate cuts in the second half of the year. This sends positive signals to consumers.

In the first quarter of this year, JM Norge had a positive operating margin of 10.1 per cent.

Other key figures:

• For the entire JM group in Sweden, Finland and Norway, turnover was SEK 3.034 billion in the quarter and the profit margin was 5.3 per cent.
• JM’s revenues in Norway in the 1st quarter were SEK 690 million (632) with an operating margin of 10.1 per cent (6.7 per cent).
• JM Norge sold 62 homes (77), but started production on no new ones (41) in the first quarter.
• At the end of the quarter, JM had 852 homes under construction (1105) in Norway. Compared to the corresponding period the previous year, revenues and operating profit improved somewhat due to the sale of land outside the company’s strategic investment areas.

JM AB’s CEO Johan Skoglund summarizes the first quarter for the entire business as follows:

– In the first quarter of 2024, we saw signs that the housing market, above all in Sweden, is in the process of picking up. It is a general opinion that mortgage interest rates will fall during the year, which has led to increased interest in our homes in all JM’s submarkets.

But he sees that customers are still waiting, and the price increases and increased transaction volumes reported from the housing market in March are improvements from low levels.

– My opinion is that more housing interest rate cuts are probably required, which gives more people the opportunity to buy a home, before we see a significant improvement in the market for new homes, says Skoglund.