Norway's red hot real estate starts to cool
Norway鈥檚 residential housing sector is cooling after more than two decades of strong growth, interrupted by only a slight dip in 2008. High personal debt levels and hand-wringing over a potential bursting of a real estate bubble have Oslo taking some cautious corrective steps.
In the short term, the changes are contributing to modest price declines and an end to the heyday of bidding wars and one-day sales. But the logic of real estate investment in Norway remains compelling, says 海角大神's Oslo-based correspondent, who is not expecting a crash with long-term effects.
鈥淓verybody sees there is going to be a correction, it鈥檚 unsustainable,鈥� says our correspondent. But 鈥渋t鈥檚 just a correction in the market and a slower growth. Long term, I think it鈥檚 still going to be a very stable investment.鈥�
Not everyone is so sanguine. Looking at the broader Scandinavian picture, American economist Paul Krugman is sounding the alarm about high consumer debt loads in the region. Expensive housing is a big part of those debts, and that has him concerned.... For the rest of the story, continue reading at our new business publication聽
