– It is challenging for all groups who want to rent a home in today’s market. That’s what Jardar Sørvoll says. He heads the Center for Housing and Welfare Research (Bovel). The last few days have been characterized by headlines about galloping prices, packed screenings and students who have had to move home. – There is a shortage of rental housing and higher prices than it has been before, in many places in the country, says Sørvoll. Rental prices in July this year were 4 per cent higher than at the same time last year. The average was NOK 9,555 per month. This is shown by figures from Husleie.no. On average, you had to shell out 10,597 to rent a two-room apartment in July in Norway. In Oslo, the average rent was NOK 12,041. Never before has it been so high. RECOMMENDS MORE DWELLING: Jardar Sørvoll, head of the Center for Housing and Welfare Research, believes more housing is needed to stem the rise in rental prices. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news Jardar Sørvoll believes a solution would be to build housing aimed at both students and school pupils. – It will be able to reduce the price pressure on the rental market. But it is always complicated to know how this will turn out in the longer term. But more homes on the market will contribute to prices rising less than they do if there is a great shortage of rental properties. To help the students As news has previously discussed, only one in five upper secondary schools in this country offers a place to live for students who have to move away from home. As a result, upper secondary school students also have to enter the private rental market. This helps to push up prices. In some places, rental prices are so high that some parents have chosen to buy an apartment for their children. – Is the solution Professor Erling Røed Larsen is head of research in the Housing Lab. The only solution to bring prices down is to build more, he believes. – Everything else is just tinkering with the problem. Larsen cites Oslo as an example. – Many people in Norway want to live in the Oslo area. The number of people who want it is much greater than the number of homes available. In recent years, far too little has been built, he says. ALL OVER THE COUNTRY: Professor Erling Røed Larsen in the Housing Lab explains that the challenges of few homes apply to the whole country. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB At the same time, Larsen is clear that this does not only apply to Oslo. – Every time you say Oslo, you can replace it with a regional centre. Bodø, Tromsø or Trondheim, for example. There is a tendency for people to live centrally. Stolleken without more chairs In recent years, several measures have been introduced to help first-time buyers enter the market. Examples are rent-to-own schemes and good conditions on first-time loans. – But these measures all have in common that they simply make different people sit on a chair in a chair game. They do not provide more chairs. And more chairs are needed, says Larsen. He is clear that it is not a human right to live centrally. At the same time, he believes that Norway will be the loser if you don’t dare to build more densely. COULD LIVE CLOSER: A skater in the evening sun on Grünerløkka in Oslo. Around 13,000 people live in the district per square kilometre. Professor Erling Røed Larsen believes that people could live even closer together both here and elsewhere in the country. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Larsen has recently compared Grünerløkka in Oslo with the district of Nørrebro in Copenhagen. – Grünerløkka has been promoted as Norway’s most densely built-up area. I have calculated that there are 13,000 people per square kilometer living there. In Nørrebro, there are 20,000 people per square kilometre. The density is 50 percent higher. It may be an idea for Norway to have a higher density, also from an environmental point of view. It will also contribute to both rental prices and house prices falling. A doctor, a consultant, a country manager, a salesperson and a regional manager show each other their homes. But who lives where?
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More dormitories for students will dampen price growth in the rental market – news Nordland
