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OSLO

Oslo second-richest city in the world: study

Oslo is the wealthiest metropolitan area in Europe and the second richest city in the world in terms of gross domestic product per capita, according to a Brookings Institute study.

The Norwegian capital comes in just behind Hartford, Connecticut, in the study of the 200 richest global cities.

With an average annual income of $74,057 in 2011, Oslo’s wage earners trailed their counterparts in the Connecticut state capital by just over $1,000.

That duo outpaced the chasing pack by a considerable distance: residents of third-placed San Jose earned a relatively modest $68,141, while the denizens of Abu Dhabi floundered in fourth with an average income of $63,859.

In a list dominated by cities in the United States, the only European cities to join Oslo in the top ten were Zurich (6) and Stockholm (8).

This dominance is under threat, however. The Brookings’ study found that 90 percent of the world’s fastest-growing metropolitan economies are located outside North America and Western Europe.

The poorest cities in the world, according to the study, are Cairo, Mumbai and Alexandria.

The fastest-growing metropolitan area is Shanghai, followed by Riyadh and Jiddah.

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RENTING

Rental prices in Norway’s biggest cities continue to rise

The cost of renting in Norway's four largest cities rose overall during the third quarter, with prices up six percent this year, figures from Real Estate Norway show. 

Rental prices in Norway's biggest cities continue to rise

A sharp increase in rent prices in Norway continued throughout the third quarter, figures from Real Estate Norway (Eiendom Norge) released on Tuesday show. 

“Real Estate Norway’s rental housing price statistics show a historically strong rise in rental housing prices in Norway in the third quarter,” Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway, stated in a report on the latest figures. 

Growth was most robust in Stavanger and Oslo, according to Real Estate Norway. 

“The strong growth in rental prices we have seen in the wake of the pandemic continued in the third quarter, and it is particularly in the Stavanger region and in Oslo that the growth in rental prices is strong,” Lauridsen said. 

Stavanger and nearby Sandnes saw the largest price increases, with the cost of renting there increasing by 4.7 percent during the third quarter. During the same period, rents in Oslo increased by 2.5 percent, while a marginal 0.3 percent rise was recorded in Trondheim. 

While the cost of renting in Norway’s four largest cities overall increased by 2 percent, rental prices in Bergen declined. There, rents fell by 2.5 percent in the third quarter.

Lauridsen said that the increase in rental prices was likely to continue due to several factors. High inflation, interest rates, increased taxes on rental properties and a low supply of homes on the market all contributed to increasing rents. 

However, he did note that the supply of rental homes on the market had increased in Trondheim and Oslo since the summer. 

Lauridsen said that the least well-off financially were being hit hardest by rent rises. Previously, the Norwegian government has informed The Local that it will not introduce a temporary cap on rent increases. 

READ MORE: Norway’s government rules out a temporary rent cap

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