Buying an Apartment in Stockholm - Everything You Need to Know
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- I decided to sell my old apartment in Stockholm and look for a new one. And it turns out that there's a lot to think about when buying an apartment in the capital of Sweden! Join me as I explore the housing market in Stockholm and eventually find a new place to live.
For more videos every week, subscribe to the channel: www.youtube.co...
Also, join the Three Star Vagabond Facebook group to discuss upcoming videos: / threestarvagabond
The housing prices in Stockholm are pretty insane, from a Swedish point of view. But that's because the housing market in Sweden in general is pretty insane. There's a lot of pitfalls and a lot of risks, so I decided to make a comprehensive guide of how to buy a new apartment in the city.
In this video I discuss the different areas of Stockholm, and the different price ranges. And I also talk about where you can search for apartments in Stockholm, and in Sweden in general. And I also show lots and lots of different apartments, of course, since I'm searching for a new one myself.
Aside from that I also go into what you need to think about when inspecting an apartment, things you need to consider about the housing cooperative, handy tips for your move, and details about the bidding and the purchasing process.
And let's not forget about loans and mortgages too. That's of course something I also discuss in this video, with details about how different loan amounts will affect your mortgage rate.
And in the end, I actually did find a new apartment for myself, so you get to see what the end result is after all of these months of selling and searching!
I thought finding an apartment and moving was stressful enough here in the U.S. I’m exhausted after watching this and all that’s required! And I watched it a few times so now I need a couple drinks! I thought your previous apartment was cute, but I’m digging your new digs, and you got your main must have - a nice, deep tub. Hope you’re all settled and can relax for now.
Haha, I guess things are a bit easier over there! But I hear that some countries are even worse than Sweden :D I'd love to say that I'm just chilling in my new place now, but...there's still so much to do! So maybe in a week or two!
Swedish prices are on par with Australia’s major cities & expensive however as you’ve done one can find better prices & dwellings with some research.
I believe Sabaton are from Stockholm yes ?
True, I guess there's always (more or less) bargains to be found even in expensive places. And nope, not Stockholm! They come from up north, Dalarna I believe.
Awesome video! I myself have been looking at apartments for a couple of months already, and had to learn many of the things you mentioned, but you go far beyond than any other content creator that has touched the subject 🙏
Really happy to hear that! Much appreciated, and the best of luck in your search 😀
Congratulations on your new home 🎉 A fascinating insight into what sounds like a really complex procedure. You definitely deserved your holiday after that! 😃
Haha thank you so much! Unfortunately the move was right after my holiday. I should have planned better ^_^
I got some good interior decorating ideas from watching this. You made a great choice by the way.
Yay, thank you! Really happy to hear that :D
This is very valuable for us foreigners, tack ska du ha!
Congrats on the new apartment!
Yay thank you :D
Nice apartment! I think you made a great choice.
Phew, happy to hear that! One is always filled with second thoughts :D
Bra och informativ video! Ser ut som du gjorde en bra affär. Riktigt fin lägenhet du köpte.
Tack så mycket! Jättekul att höra :D
Ah, beautiful Kungsholmen! I spent a short time living there in 2012 when I was an intern at a company. I used to dream of buying an apartment there. I also used to run where you were filming-such a nice place! I hope to return to Stockholm one day..
Fingers crossed that you'll be able to return! I really enjoy Kungsholmen, and I had a hard time moving away - obviously, since I chose a new place close to my old apartment :D
actually you did the right thing,, good choice too..Congratulations on your new home 🎉
Thank you so much! Really happy to hear that 😊
Congratulations on finding such a great place! I love the flow of the apartment, and I look forward to all the geeky news you make from your neat little setup!
Congrats with your new apartments! Property prices around globe are crazy
True! Maybe it's not just Stockholm but everywhere...
@@ThreeStarVagabond I mean, that everywhere buying apartments/houses prices are crazy, regarding to income.
I guess so.. But some places just seem a bit more insane than others still
@ Yes, 500k for apartment it's insane... I mean even if Stockholm salaries are good....
It’s not really that apartments turned more valuable, but rather than our fiat currencies are losing value rapidly compared to ANYTHING that you can’t create out of thin air.
Inflation & money printing is a type of invisible taxation, where the way out of it is to
1. Be rich already
2. Borrow money to invest
3. Value of money goes down x% per year, which is a type of guaranteed x% return for capital owners
First of all, Great video!! This was extremely interesting and informative. AND so incredibly complicated.
I thought that buying a condo in the US was complex and filled with multiple added expenses; but Stockholm “takes the cake” by a longshot!🥺
I enjoy watching your UA-cam channel and seeing your lifestyle and environment, but I’m so grateful to live where I live and have a beautiful simple glorious life here.😉🤩
Some watch youtube and think "oh that sounds lovely; I'd love to move there", and some watch youtube and are happy for what they have instead. I'm just happy to share information regardless of the outcome :D
Looks great. You did good. Very happy tor you.
Thank you so much! :D
Thank you for this video! Very useful! And enjoy your new appartment 🎉
Much appreciated! :D
I enjoyed this video. I’ve always found it best when buying a home to stick to the budget and paying less than your budget is a good idea. You never know if you when you need extra money for expenses ect. Too many people here in the US are house poor because they went for the biggest most expensive instead of being financially conservative in a modest house.
I think that’s wise advice indeed.
The same thing happens in Sweden, especially when we had low mortgage rates for many years! I prefer to have a lot of margin, myself - I'd never want to be in a situation where unexpected things happen and I won't be able to cover it.
Gotta say tho, the interiors of most of these apartments that you showed, is really cozy. Coming from nyc perspective
I can imagine that the situation is a tenfold worse (regarding what you get for the price) over in NYC!
@ oh yeah no, it’s god awful 😵
Congratulations to your new apartment :) But talk about living in different worlds, i recently bought a house in my hometown in northern sweden for about 250.000 kr (76+50 m2). Sure its not very modern and need some renovations but what a price difference compared to Stockholm!
The prices in Stockholm are insane! If you only knew how many times I've looked longingly at Hemnet, thinking about what I could buy up north instead :D
@@ThreeStarVagabond Haha yeah I can imagine :D
Very nice piece. I just bought an apartment for that price range on Birger Jarlsgatan a few months ago.
Nice! Haha maybe I should have looked around more in that area too
@ On 104 Birger Jarlsgatan there are a few in that range as I live nearby. I was renting around here for nearly a year before I bought so it was a good way to feel out the neighborhood. Only 14 minutes walking to Stureplan which is quite convenient 😊
Sounds awesome! And very close to the city center. Damn, not bad at all 😀
@@ThreeStarVagabond You'd like it. It's quite quiet actually.
Congrats on your new place Miro. Some of those other prices look kind of brutal for what you get.
I agree! Stockholm is a bit mad with housing prices, at least in certain areas...
Interesting to see the various apartments. I did like one with a balcony - something I miss with mine here in the UK. But wow, the price!! €500k for a small apartment. Mine is 1/3 the price of that, but it's not in a capital. I just wonder what sort of money someone needs to be earning to afford such a high mortgage, but then I guess wages are higher in Sweden than brexit-blighted Britain. 😔
I did like the one with the balcony as well! But the price was just too high compared to the space one would get, in my view. There seems to be no shortage of (upper?) middle class people who can afford places like that, actually - and Stockholm is extremely popular. And yeah I always thought that wages were higher in the UK but maybe I'm stuck in pre-Brexit times ^^
Wow what a process, if the prices of apartments are that high I’d hate to see a single house. Apartments in the US are just rented, your system is more what we call condominiums, where you buy the unit and maintain it, plus a few other things. Interesting insight into the buying process I quite enjoy it. You always have to make a choice, location, price and size, in the end it’s what makes you happy. Stay safe till next time.
Aha! So that's the difference between a condo and an apartment - I've seen US people use both terms but I've never really known the difference. But housing prices really depend on the location. If you want to have a house in central Stockholm? Phew. Better be rich. But many people buy a house in the outskirts where they can still commute to town.
congrats on new home :)
Thank you! Appreciate it :D
Nice apartment! Congrats 🎉 🎉🎉
Thank you!! :D
Happy new home! Looks great but so did many of the others until you said that the walk-in was a bonus room. Nevertheless, very stressful.
Thank you! Yeah I really liked some of the other ones, but the extra little room in this one really makes it an awesome choice I think. I hope :D
Beautiful Clean a nice apartment
Thank you so much!
$500 000 is closer to 6 000 000 SEK (roughly)
I live in the past! Or possibly in denial
Hi Miro!
Congrats!
I was just recently scrolling over hemnet for my Swedish class homework. 😅
Quite difficult to find reasonably priced flats and one can dream about the innanför tullarna location.
Still, you've shown some nice flats in the video, and I loved nearly all of them.
The geek room looks awesome (and ofc wine fridge)!
And most importantly, glad that YOU like your new flat! 😀
Have a nice week!
PS When do you hold husesyn?! I have to know to book a flight to Stockholm. :P
Thank you so much! And haha, I already had the moving in party last weekend - you missed it! I'll have to have a second one it seems ;D
So happy I left Stockholm, now I have a brand new house 150 sqare maters for same price :-)
I'm starting question my sanity why I still live in the city :D
Vad är grejen med ett sånt stort hus om inte man har en familj
@arko9151 kanske för att de vill ha ett stort hus?
I can't wait until I've actually seen the video, and I'm not calling the creator out, but it's funny listening to people moving to Stockholm, how horrified they are at finding out that people actually enjoy living outside of tullarna. I have Stockholm's largest nature reserve 5 minutes from my flat. I have 5 minutes walk to one of Sweden's largest shopping areas. Around 30-45 min public transport to work, or 30 minutes by bike.
Mind you, I have no problem with people wanting to live within tullarna, but some people act like you'd catch the black death if you don't live on lilla essingen
How much are HOA dues? That I think is what you are referring to as "rent", The monthly building fees that you pay for the elevator electricity outside maintenance etc...
Yeah exactly, it's not rent but people sometimes mistakenly call it that even if it's to a HOA. It's around 3300 I think. Not too bad.
Congrats with the new apmt Miro 👍👏🎉. Btw why do you have to pay rent if you’ve paid mortgage & interest (= owning your home)? Minute 9:27
Thank you! And oh well, it's not rent per se - it's just a fee to the housing cooperative (for maintenance of the house, services etc). People sometimes call it "rent" even if it's incorrect.
@ Oh I see… thanks 😀
Interesting insight into Swedish property buying.im curious are apartments in Sweden freehold or leasehold and can anybody buy property there or is it limited to nationals and residents of Sweden only.
I think anyone is free to buy an apartment, but the banks can be a bit finicky when it comes to loans and how much is paid in cash. And apartments are typically leasehold, but there are also houses that are freehold.
Glad I don't have to buy property in Sweden. Sounds even more complicated than the US, which is stressful enough. I like your new place. Looks very nice. What area is it in? I visited Stockholm in September and tried to learn some of the names. Beautiful city!!
Haha it's not for the faint of heart! It's on the western side of Kungsholmen, in an area called Stadshagen. Pretty close to Fridhemsplan. (West of the central station.)
@ThreeStarVagabond Enjoy your new home!
Thank you so much 😀
You wouldn't happen to be planning a summer cottage inspection tour in the spring, would you? 😀 It seems that quite a few foreigners are in the market for exactly that.
Haha, I know nothing about summer cottages but you're right - maybe I should look into it for all the Germans and whatnot :D
Congrats on the new place and built in tub! Im new to your page and was wondering - does Stockholm have 'neighborhoods' in the city? Like, this part of Stockholm is where a lot of young families live, or this area is where a lot of immigrants live, or this neighborhood is rundown and neglected. Chicago is split into neighborhoods so Im wondering how similar or different Stockholm is from that. Thank you!!
Thank you! And yeah absolutely. It's not as big of a city as Chicago so the neighborhoods aren't as pronounced, but the island of Södermalm is a young and hip place, Östermalm is where many posh people live, and so on. There are exceptions to the rule but it's a general trend at least!
Very useful… neighbour! Although if/when i buy… i will have to go further out. 😂
I totally understand - I'm lucky that I can live pretty close to the city. But there are awesome places a bit out too ^_^
Snyggt och gratis!
Tack så mycket! (Although you accidentally made it quite funny. Gratis = free. Grattis = congratulations. So yeah..this was definitely not gratis ;D)
Good choice! So what do you do for income besides excellent UA-cam videos? That apartment is still pretty expensive…
Thank you! Well, I've been in software development/management for 20 years, in various positions - so that helps!
Aaaaah - that explains a lot! Well, congratulations on your new home and I can’t wait for your next video adventure!
Haha yeah it's a bit more understandable then I guess. And thank you so much! :D
I have to ask, in the UK, some people live on narrow boats within London, you buy your boat and pay mooring fees to park your boat up. It is a much cheaper option than buying a property. Is this something that happens in Stockholm, too?
It does...sort of. The problem is that you typically have to buy a house boat in cash since it might not be viable to get a loan for it. Combine that with freezing winters and it's not really an option that most people explore. I'd love it in the summer but.. Yeah.. Not right now ^^
@ThreeStarVagabond your right, i don't think I would fancy getting out of bed to -°
Haha exactly. Just imagine how cold it'd be on a boat surrounded by ice
Miro, I can install your tub. I'll charge you some small talk though. 😅
Nooo! It's not worth it! Or wait, maybe it is. Such a difficult choice :D
@@ThreeStarVagabond 😆😆😆😆
Hello, how can I contact with you?
Was your old apartment rented or bought? And howany years did you live there and if it qas not already paid out - how did you sell it?
It was bought. Sweden's housing market (both for condos and houses) is typically built up around loaning the majority of the cost from a bank. When you sell it, the new owner pays with a combination of down payment and a new loan, and that pays for your old loans.
@@ThreeStarVagabond Ok, so that confirms my suspicion that you scandinavian people don't really understand how housing works. You buy something only if you are going to live there a very, very long period. Otherwise you rent. If you rent you don't pay any renovations, you don't pay any brokerage fees which on 500,000$ is a lot and if you pay these fees 2-3-4 times over the life you have about 5-6 years of rent just from the fees. And we are not even talking about the mortgage loansor renovations you have to do in an appartment you own, vs the one that is rented out.
If you calculate the money you spent on all these, you could've lived in a nice appartment the last 10 years by renting it and probably save a fortune. But it is great that the banks sell you the cool aid over there and you drink it...
Whats the ball park monthly salary before taxes one needs to have to be able to buy a 4-5Million kr apartment in Stockholm?
Depending on how much down payment you can afford, it's actually quite a bit. Around 50k SEK/month or so for a bit over 4M with 85% loan. ($50k+ per year - which is not insignificant at ałl in Sweden)
@@ThreeStarVagabond Very interesting! Thank you for the great content:)
Grattis, nära halva priset av de jag sneglar på, men nästan lika stor. :/
Oof! Fy fan vad mycket. Men ja då är ju läget bättre antar jag ^^
Bureaucracy 😭😭
Worth understanding is why everyone has to buy rather than rent, and thus the purchasing prices are so high
The state imposes a ton of rent controls, which obviously don’t apply to buying and selling. If anyone proposes removing state involvement, a vocal part of swedes and foreigners residing in Sweden will complain about the evil capitalists. Thus a skewed market where people end up having to lock down the majority of their wealth in their residence.
To solve this, politicians have created a renters queue where you can wait from childhood until old age to be assigned a flat - like how Germans under communism would have to wait forever in line for a shitty Trabant, or bread queues in fully socialist occupied countries.
“Man plans, God laughs”
Good information! Always nice to add some extra context to why things are as...problematic as they are...
Så snart ni slutar sparka ut de som som arbetat i Stockholm i 10 år. Så kan jag bli intresserad
I recognized the apartment in Nordenflychtsvägen 62/64 by the tiles. Avoid.
Avoid? How come? I mean, I thought it was too expensive and I didn't like the layout - but anything else?
@@ThreeStarVagabond I think there has been plenty of problems with the building. A recurring problem seems to be connected with the ventilation system. I've only read the annual reports.