Sweden’s plan to boost rural housing fails
The Swedish government’s investment in a guaranteed line of credit to build new houses in rural areas has been a fiasco, with only a handful of homes built in ten years, Swedish Radio News reports.
It is hard to find a house for sale on the countryside, as prices are low and the owners prefer to wait.
But building one’s own house is not an easy option either, because banks usually refuse to give mortgages, arguing that the market value of the property is lower than the loan.
That’s why the government introduced a guaranteed line of credit for self-built rural houses ten years ago. This means that the state steps in to cover the risks.
However, only 15 contracts have been signed since 2004.
Related stories from around the North:
China: Mining and housing in the Arctic, Blog by Mia Bennett
Finland: Finland’s real estate market forecast to slump in 2015, Yle News
Greenland: So, I’ve Heard About This Really Nice
Norway: The new Arctic real estate boom – Tromso, Norway, Eye on the Arctic
Russia: Norilsk, Russia -The inescapability of the company town on Russia’s tundra, Blog by Mia Bennett
Sweden: Mining town residents in Arctic Sweden plea for relocation, Radio Sweden
United States: New ‘super-insulated’ homes in Arctic Alaska, Alaska Dispatch News
