Foreigners buying up more Swedish holiday homes

An increasing share Sweden’s holiday homes are owned by foreigners, according to new statistics.

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Statistics Sweden (SCB) reports that 31,834 Swedish holiday homes – close to 6 percent of the country’s total stock – were owned by non-Swedes at the end of 2008.

The figure represents a 5 percent increase from 2007, although the increase varies a great deal from region to region.

In Kronobergs County in southern Sweden, for example, a full 39 percent of the county’s vacation homes are in the hands of foreigners.

Other counties with a large percentage of foreign-owned holiday homes include Värmland County in western Sweden (20 percent), and Jönköping County, also in southern Sweden (14 percent).

However, in 13 out of Sweden’s 21 counties, foreigners account for less than 5 percent of the owners of vacation homes.

Foreign owners of Swedish holiday homes primarily come from Denmark, Germany, and Norway, with owners from these three countries accounting for 89 percent of foreign owners.

While the number of foreign owners from Demark and Norway rose by more than 7 percent, between 2007 and 2008, the number of German owners actually decreased by 1 percent.

Another significant group of foreign owners include the Dutch, who own nearly 1,200 Swedish holiday homes.