According to the TT news agency, average rates for a variable mortgage (which is more common in Sweden than a lot of other countries) stood at between 4.02 and 4.12 percent at Sweden's four largest banks, with SEB being the cheapest and Nordea the most expensive.
That's down from 4.11-4.27 percent in September and brings variable mortgage rates back in line with what they were in March 2023, when SBAB charged 4.17 percent.
These are the average prices or snitträntor offered to customers in October rather than the more expensive official listed rates or listräntor, which are usually higher.
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Banks legally have to provide both of these figures, so it's worth checking the snitträntor to make sure you're getting a good rate if you're signing a new mortgage or if your current one is coming up for renewal.
You can probably expect mortgage rates to keep falling in the months ahead, after the Riksbank slashed its policy rate to 2.75 percent from 3.25 percent on Thursday – the first cut of 0.50 percentage points in a decade. Prior cuts to the policy rate earlier this year have caused mortgage rates to drop by roughly the same amount.
The policy rate is the central bank’s main monetary policy tool. It decides which rates Swedish banks can deposit in and borrow money from the Riksbank, which in turn affects the banks’ own interest rates on savings, loans and mortgages.
If bank interest rates are high, it’s expensive to borrow money, which means people spend less and as a result inflation drops.
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