Stockholm

1. Water City: Stockholm is built on 14 islands connected by over 50 bridges, which gives it a unique waterfront charm. Approximately 30% of the city area is made up of water, making it one of the cities with the most water bodies in the world. 2. Green Spaces: The city boasts an impressive number of parks and green spaces, with over 1,000 parks available for residents and visitors. Djurgården, a large park and former royal hunting ground, is home to several museums, an amusement park, and vast walking paths, providing a serene escape from urban life. 3. Innovative Waste Management: Stockholm is renowned for its advanced waste management system, where approximately 99% of the waste produced is recycled or used for energy. The city has implemented a unique underground waste collection system that helps keep the streets clean and reduce pollution.

Stockholm’s housing market is rebounding in 2025 after years of volatility. Home ownership rates in Sweden are above the EU average, but in Stockholm, around 60% of residents rent, while approximately 40% own their home. Most rental units are either public or owned by housing associations, with home ownership concentrated among higher-income households. The median price to buy an apartment in Greater Stockholm is about 7 million SEK, roughly 619,000 Euros. When converted by area, typical prices for condominiums (“bostadsrätt”) in central Stockholm average around 8,000–10,000 Euros per square meter. For rentals, the average monthly rent is about 175–250 Euros per square meter annually (roughly 15–21 Euros per sqm per month), but new contracts on the open market often command much higher rates due to shortages. Publicly owned housing companies hold a significant share of the rental stock in Stockholm, providing around 44% of all rental apartments. However, long waiting lists and limited construction have led to acute shortages. Public housing in Stockholm is not the same as social housing; rather, it is intended for the general public (“universalist” model), not just low-income or vulnerable groups. Social housing, in the targeted sense for people in need, comprises a much smaller subset. Thus, most public housing in Stockholm is open to all, but supply is inadequate for growing demand.

Stockholm faces a critical housing crisis marked by a severe shortage of available homes and long waiting lists for both public and private rentals. Around 800,000 people are on official waiting lists in the city, with thousands more joining each month. Waiting times can stretch between 5 and 30 years for a regulated rental apartment, forcing many to accept substandard housing, share crowded units, or remain in their parents’ homes well into adulthood. The city is adding only 4,000 new homes per year, while estimates suggest it needs 9,000–13,000 annually to keep up with demand. The situation is especially acute for lower-income groups, with approximately 80,000 individuals in urgent need of affordable housing. Those most affected include young people, single-parent families, pensioners, and refugees, particularly people who arrived during and after the 2015 migration wave. Expats and newcomers also struggle, as high rental prices, strict regulations, and the competitive market make both renting and purchasing homes difficult. With a vacancy rate near zero, some are pushed to less desirable neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts or into the informal black market for rental contracts. The housing crisis has contributed to increased social tensions, overcrowding, and a rise in socio-economic segregation across Stockholm.

Stockholm’s city administration is tackling the housing crisis with an ambitious target to build 140,000 new homes by 2030, aiming for a diverse mix of tenures and greater affordability and sustainability. As part of this strategy, the city launched the Stockholmshusen program, using standardised designs and prefabricated materials to reduce construction costs and times—halving project lead times from eight to four years. The goal is to produce more affordable rental apartments with high energy efficiency and sustainable features, targeting around 3,300 new tenancies through this initiative alone. Other concrete measures include close collaboration with cooperative housing organizations such as HSB and Riksbyggen, leveraging the city’s ownership of 70% of land to allocate sites for affordable and sustainable cooperative housing. The city also supports pilot projects like HSB’s Living Lab, combining student housing with research into efficient, low-impact living. For the most vulnerable, Stockholm’s housing programs focus on supplying homes for approximately 80,000 low-income residents, including young adults, pensioners, single-parent families, and refugees. Sustainability goals are integrated into urban planning, with requirements for climate-enhanced materials and solar energy, plus improvements to public transit and cycle paths. Stockholm’s approach emphasizes social cohesion, aiming to break down socioeconomic segregation by creating more integrated, accessible neighborhoods as outlined in its City Plan and Vision 2040. These combined efforts reflect a multi-faceted strategy to deliver affordable, sustainable housing at scale, though significant challenges remain in meeting surging demand.

Housing cooperatives (“bostadsrätter”) play a central role in Stockholm’s housing landscape, representing a significant share of the city’s housing stock. Their presence has grown markedly over recent decades: in inner-city Stockholm, the proportion of cooperative apartments increased from about 29% in 1990 to 56% in 2008; in the broader municipality, the share rose from about 24% to 43% over the same period. Today, roughly 44% of all housing units in Stockholm are estimated to be cooperative housing, reflecting a substantial dimension in both ownership and new construction. The sector’s growth is driven by a trend of converting rental units into cooperatives and the construction of new cooperative housing. Major organizations like HSB and Riksbyggen, which together manage hundreds of thousands of apartments, spearhead much of this activity. Cooperative housing is particularly attractive due to comparatively stable monthly costs and the opportunity for resident influence over property management, though high prices and debt levels are ongoing issues. Stockholm’s city policies actively promote cooperative housing through land allocation to cooperatives, close partnerships with HSB and Riksbyggen, and innovative initiatives like pilot projects for sustainable and affordable living. However, challenges persist, including rising land lease fees and affordability concerns amid surging demand and price increases. The city’s broader housing strategy, including its ambitious new construction targets and support for mixed tenures, aims to further support this crucial segment.