Ahead of the high-pressure month of May, the month in which most homes are sold in the year, there are just over 19,000 homes for sale in the country.
That is about as many as last year.
SVT went on an apartment show in southern Stockholm.
Only a couple of speculators came to our display of a two-room apartment of 59 square meters.
Marie Bertilsson, is the real estate agent who sells the apartment.
She confirms that there are now fewer speculators at the screenings.
The couple who showed up at the show, Elin Karlsson and future partner, Ali Alawis, have interest rate increases in mind.
- It will obviously be more difficult, especially for us who are new to the housing market, says Ali Alawi.
Interest rate chill
Fears of higher interest rates have already had an effect, even though final prices are fairly stable.
The rampant bidding has slowed down.
It shows new figures from the housing site Hemnet, which SVT has read.
Bidding on condominiums has slowed by almost one percent compared to last year.
For villas, bidding has slowed down even more, by just over four percent in one year.
Declining cap prices have contributed to calmer bidding.
The sellers of villas have in fact raised the starting prices by 3 percent in just one month.
The starting prices for condominiums, on the other hand, have been reduced slightly during the month.
This behavior, calmer bidding and rising starting prices are typical of an uncertain market, writes Hemnet's analyst, Erik Holmberg, to SVT.
Can you handle an interest rate increase?
Cecilia Hermansson, who has a background as chief economist at a major bank and is now a researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, believes that those who enter the housing market should think about whether prices can be on the way down.
For those who already have loans and housing, there are also things to think about.
- Then you have to think about how to cope with rising interest rates in the future, says Cecilia Hermansson.