5 times gross salary. One purpose is to make it easier for young people to buy their first home. Arturo Arques, a personal finance expert at Swedbank, says it will make it easier for first-time buyers, such as young people wanting to enter the housing market.
However, Arturo Arques is critical of the proposal, arguing that when the opportunity to borrow more money exists, debts for individuals can also increase, which can be a risk. 'Regardless of where in the country you live, if you borrow up to 90 percent, it means you don't have the same resilience in case housing prices go down,' says Arturo Arques. Parliament will vote first, but it is probably a formality.
Industry experts have expressed mixed views on the potential impacts. 'It has been a few shaky years in the housing market,' says HSB Värmland CEO Jessika Lundgren. With the new proposal, Jessika Lundgren believes the housing market will open up for more people.
' More lenient loan rules are likely to make homes more expensive because buyers will be able to afford to borrow more. Then at least parts of the effect disappear. The down payment will still be lower even if prices rise, but interest costs will end up higher.
Allehanda assessors' forecasts point to price increases for homes this year on the order of 5 percent. This forecast includes not only the impact from easier loan rules, but also that interest rates have fallen and the economy is expected to pick up. 'And that's about exactly how much makes these changed rules stop working, so to speak, that it could be plus minus zero,' says Christina Sahlberg.
But forecasts are forecasts, it could be different, she adds. If prices rise as an effect of the new rules, it may be most advantageous to buy early, later the potentially higher prices risk eating up the effect, according to Christina Sahlberg. Erik Wikander, CEO of Svensk Fastighetsförmedlingen, does not believe in any large price increase for one- and two-room apartments, which young people are likely to demand first.
'Some price effect yes, but rather more transactions which in turn ease the moving chains,' says Erik Wikander. 'Of course it will benefit first-time buyers,' adds Erik Wikander. How many first-time buyers are expected to enter the market as a result of these changes is not yet known.
In a study, Christina Sahlberg has calculated where in the country the winners can still be found. 'It is in the big cities that one can primarily benefit from the easier loan rules. For most who buy in smaller cities, where housing prices are lower relative to salary, then one also does not have this stricter amortization requirement (which now disappears),' says Sahlberg.
But Sahlberg still sees first-time buyers as the potentially big winners. 'The young people who previously could not buy their first apartment. And this reduced 1 percent extra amortization will make the banks' calculations work better for them,' says Christina Sahlberg.
The current housing market context shows challenges. Around 300 homes are listed for sale in Karlstad municipality on the housing platform Hemnet. Some of the homes belong to HSB's new production in Haga, where they have had offers at various times to attract buyers.
Other companies that have built new apartments in Karlstad have also done this. The exact impact of the new mortgage rules on housing prices across different regions remains uncertain. What specific risks increased debts pose to individuals under the new rules is also unclear.