The Swedish Housing Market : Better Allocation via Less Regulation

Felix Hüfner ; Jens Lundsgaard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

关键词: rental housing;    housing supply;    house prices;    Sweden;    rent regulation;    housing taxation;   

DOI  :  https://doi.org/10.1787/175230504175

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: OECD iLibrary

【 摘 要 】

While several sectors in the economy have been deregulated, the Swedish housing market remains distorted, hindering an optimal matching of supply and demand. In the rental market the rent setting framework with its focus on cost-based rents in the public sector prevents a price response, leading to long queues in some regions and vacancies in others. Many Swedes that would have preferred otherwise are driven into the owner-occupied segment, where prices are increasing strongly, and rising above an estimated fundamental value. The supply of new dwellings is made more difficult by an uncompetitive construction industry, coupled with cumbersome planning regulations and few incentives for municipalities to issue more land. On the fiscal side, real estate taxes are below neutral levels, implying an indirect subsidy to housing. This paper presents a review of the recent steps to abolish real estate taxes and also proposes comprehensive reform of regulations in the rental housing sector. This paper relates to the OECD Economic Survey of Sweden 2007 (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/sweden).