Every year, thousands of homes are built and sold in Sweden. In 2022, 107,248 homes were sold for a total value of SEK 297 billion, the second highest of all time.
However, buying a home can be a jungle with everything from bank meetings, loan promises to be granted and agreements to be signed.
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Therefore, you should wait
Ahead of the fall of 2024, the supply of housing is at a record high and a multitude of viewings will be organized around the country, states the mortgage operator Stabelo.
But the big question is how to know when it’s the right time to strike.
In an interview with News24 explains Stabelo’s housing economist, Julia Zakrissonfor what you should keep in mind before possibly buying a home this autumn, and when you should above all avoid applying for the loan promise.
– It may be good to wait to apply for a loan promise if you have no plans to buy a new home in the near future or if you just want to compare different mortgage interest rates. In the latter case, you can usually do it without applying for a loan promise.
The reason why it may be good to wait with the application for a loan promise, if you are not planning to buy a home, is that multiple applications also mean multiple credit reports that can affect your credit rating.
Julia Zakrisson is housing economist at the mortgage service Stabelo. Photo: Press image Stabelo/Erik CronbergHere the municipal tax is the lowest – may mean a higher loan promise
With the Riksbank’s previous indications of more interest rate cuts in the second half of 2024, more housing speculators are expected to appear and with it also more and more people who both want and need a loan promise.
However, there are certain parameters that come into play when you apply for the loan promise, for example where in the country you live or might consider buying a home, something that Zakrisson believes not everyone thinks about.
– Österåker has the lowest municipal tax in Sweden, which can mean that you get a higher loan promise there compared to, for example, Sigtuna, which is geographically close but has a significantly higher municipal tax.
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Then it can make a difference of up to one million in loan space
But it is not only where you want to settle that affects the size of the loan promise. Something else that is directly crucial to think about and review is how the finances of a possible association look like where you buy a home. A debt-ridden association can affect your wallet negatively over time.
Let’s say that you would like to settle in a municipality with lower municipal tax and factor in the housing association’s finances and possible debt, and the loan amount can vary by more than one million kroner for different homes.
– Say that the home in Sigtuna also belongs to a smaller association that is relatively newly formed, which usually means a higher debt and, by extension, a higher monthly fee for you as a resident, this will also negatively affect your borrowing capacity. If it is a condominium you buy, in the end it is precisely the association’s fee and finances that make the biggest difference to how big the loan promise will be, she explains.
Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TTThe interest rate situation affects your fee
Having said that, it may be worth thinking about where you want to live, whether you can possibly move and where you see yourself in the future. Despite the relatively short distance between the examples Österåker and Sigtuna, it can still mean big differences when your loan promise is eventually granted.
However, there are also other parameters that are important to factor into the calculation before the loan promise is granted and you take the plunge.
One such example is the interest rate situation.
– In the case of rising or high interest rates, it can lead to further increases in the monthly fee, which affects your finances directly. A high level of indebtedness in the association can also negatively affect the home’s value as potential buyers can perceive it as a risk, she concludes by telling Nyheter24.
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