Price index of one-family houses in Denmark rose by 3.04% (2.41% when adjusted for inflation) during the year to Q1 2020, after y-o-y increases of 3.64% in Q4 2019, 3.53% in Q3, 2.5% in Q2 and 2.26% in Q1, according to Statistics Denmark. Quarter-on-quarter, the price index increased slightly by 0.63% (0.44% inflation-adjusted) in Q1 2020.
Demand remains robust. In Q1 2020, sales of detached/terraced houses rose by 4.6% to 9,789 units from a year earlier. Likewise, sales of owner-occupied flats rose by 8.4% y-o-y to 3,761 units in Q1 2020 while holiday home sales surged 21.3% to 1,899 units over the same period. mortgage market is also healthy, judging by the low default rate. Mortgage arrears stood at 0.24% in 2019, slightly up from the previous year’s 0.2%. On the other hand, the number of repossessed dwellings dropped by almost 30% y-o-y to just 236 units in 2019 – the lowest level since 2007.
The housing market improved gradually since, with house prices rising by 1.38% (0.71% in real terms) in 2013 and by 1.83% (1.35% in real terms) in 2014. The Danish housing market strengthened in the following years, thanks to robust demand fuelled by negative interest rates.