As the European Commission unveiled recommendations for Sweden on Wednesday, EU representatives in Stockholm said they welcomed the public debate about high levels of household indebtedness.
Several Swedish banks are suspected of passing on the names of customers who have been denied a mortgage to other lenders who offer higher interest rates to high-risk borrowers.
A survey, carried out by the Association of Swedish Real Estate Agents (Mäklarsamfundet) on 1,800 realtors countrywide, shows that 54 percent believe that small houses prices will fall in the near future.
Sweden's central bank does not believe the country is in the midst of a housing bubble, saying in a report published Tuesday that rapidly rising housing prices are due to natural developments in the market.
Many Swedes with short-term fixed-rate mortgages will face higher bills from now on, after state-owned mortgage lender SBAB and Nordic bank Nordea both raised rates. But mortgages fixed for three years or more will become cheaper, SBAB said.
People who want to buy their first home but have trouble getting a bank loan could soon get a credit guarantee from the state, under plans unveiled by the government.
