Real estate agents believe sky-high square meter prices show a serious deficit in small apartments in Oslo. Now she is asking the city council to follow through on its own election promises.
Less than 20 minutes ago
– As a seller, I am very satisfied, but I feel for all first-time buyers out there, says Nanette Stenbock Riis (29).
In April, she sold her one-room flat on Sandaker in Oslo for NOK 3,925,000. The sale price corresponds to a square meter price of over NOK 147,000 – several tens of thousands of NOK above the average price in Frogner in Oslo, which is the country’s most expensive residential area.
Riis says that she contacted the broker after another mini-apartment in the same housing association had been sold with a square meter price of over NOK 140,000.
– I have been following the market for a while, and saw that a neighbor sold at a record price in the housing association. I therefore threw myself around, and contacted the broker who sold the apartment next door. Together we came to the conclusion that we wanted to get the apartment out quickly, as there weren’t that many comparable homes out there, says Riis.
Two weeks later, her apartment was advertised on finn.no. Shortly afterwards, there were more than 200 interested parties on the list.
– I tried to adjust my expectations so as not to be disappointed, but I had little hope that we would end up with more than 3.9 million, says Riis.
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Had 90 people at the screening
It was real estate agent Hege Berg Thomstad in Privatmegleren Soria Moria’s North Pole department who had the task of selling both of the mentioned apartments.
The broker says she knew in advance that they would be popular, especially the first one, which had an alcove with a window. She was nevertheless surprised by the enormous interest.
– There were 90 pieces on display. I told the seller that my only regret about the sale was that I did not install a swing door before the showing. I myself stood most of the time in the hallway, as there was no room for me in the apartment.
– Large deficit of small apartments
Nine potential buyers threw themselves into the bidding round and in the end the apartment was sold for over NOK 3.8 million, which corresponds to a square meter price of over NOK 143,000.
When the broker soon after carried out the sale of Nanette Steenbock Riis’ apartment, in the same housing association, she received four thousand Swedish kroner extra for each square meter.
– The high square meter prices for these two apartments are an expression of the fact that we have a market with a huge deficit in housing under 30 square metres. That applies both here and in the rest of the central districts, Thomstad believes.
She has brokered homes in the same area since she started her own business in 1997.
– Prices like this are not commonplace in this area, but if I were to predict the future, it may be that this is where we are headed. Far too little is being built, says the broker.
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Thinks the apartment standard must be removed
The estate agent believes that the apartment standard in Oslo, which states that no apartments under 35 square meters should be built in the city center districts, must be scrapped.
– It is time to open up to building what Oslo needs. When there is such a precarious need for small apartments, and we see that there are many young people struggling to get into the housing market, I believe that the apartment standard must be scrapped, says Thomstad.
Before last year’s local elections, the Conservative Party promised that the controversial norm would be removed.
– Why is it still alive, so long after the election victory?
– We are working with the apartment standard and this work requires time. We are looking at how we can facilitate a varied housing mix adapted to local needs. What is absolutely certain is that the apartment standard should not be applied across the city, as it has been practiced in practice, writes Oslo city councilor for urban development, James Stove Lorentzen (H), in an e-mail via the communications department.
– Has given clear instructions
He says that the city council in The Hammersborg declaration The Hammersborg declaration A document that describes the policy and the most important goals for the city council in Oslo, based on an agreement between the parties that form the city council.have laid down clear guidelines for how they envisage the use of an apartment standard. It will only apply in some selected sub-districts in the inner city and with other apartment sizes, so that you adapt to the needs you see in the population.
– Oslo needs smaller and more affordable apartments that singles and couples without children can buy. It is this large group that we must now focus on if we are to get more people into the housing market, writes Lorentzen.
Nanette Stenbock Riis (29), who herself had to pay NOK 3.25 million for her Sandaker apartment in 2020, also welcomes a change.
– The apartment standard must be adjusted, and it is positive to hear that the new urban development council from the Right is already working on it. I have lived well with 27 square meters for over 3 years, thanks to a good layout, she says.
