Swedish house prices top two million barrier

The price of the average Swedish house has passed the two million kronor ($300,000) mark for the first time new figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB) show.

• Profit hunt dampens housing construction (17 Jun 13)
• 'Sweden must avoid long-term housing bubble': EU (29 May 13)
• Mixed results for Sweden refugee job push (23 May 13)

The new record high has been recorded after an upswing of 2 percent over the period December 2009 -January 2010, according to an SCB statement on Wednesday.

Price variations remain substantial across the country however with average prices in Västernorrland in northern Sweden currently under one million kronor, the only county under the mark. At the other end of the scale, in Stockholm, average houses were worth 3.652 million.

While the big city areas of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö have experienced strong 3-4 percent growth over the quarter, the counties of Kronoberg, Halland and Västernorrland recorded the highest climbs, of around 5 percent.

Only three counties recorded price falls during the period - Södermanland, Jönköping and Örebro.

Over the past year Sweden has seen average house prices climb by 9 percent, in comparison with the previous 12 month period.

The big city regions of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö have performed strongly despite the deep recession and rising unemployment.

"The largest percentage change is in Stockholm with 13 percent, closely followed by Halland and Västernorrland with 12 percent each. A study of the big city regions [...] shows price rises of between 13 and 14 percent," wrote SCB.