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MAP: Where in Denmark do you need to earn a million kroner to buy a house?

There are now 13 municipalities in Denmark where a couple needs to pull in more than a million kroner a year to be able to buy a detached house of 140 square meters, according to a new survey by the mortgage lender RealKredit. Browse are map to see how the earning requirement varies.

Published: 5 August 2021 17:11 CEST

MAP: Where in Denmark do you need to earn a million kroner to buy a house?

The expensive areas are all bunched around the northeast coast of Zealand around Copenhagen. Photo: Datawrapper

Anyone trying to borrow money to buy a house in the Danish capital will be well aware that, for many, it’s now well outside their price range.

Indeed, according to a new analysis by the mortgage provider Realredit, every single one of the 13 municipalities where a couple needs to be taking home a combined million kroner in salary a year is in or around Copenhagen.

As you can see on the interactive map below, almost all of the pricy areas are bunched together on the northeastern corner of Zealand.

Copenhagen municipality, where a couple needs 1,571,154 kroner in salary to be able to buy a detached house, is not even the most expensive area. To buy a detached house in Frederiksberg, which takes in some of the leafiest areas to the west of the city, a couple needs to be earning a combined 2,218,698 kroner.

To get a detached house in Gentofte, on the coast north of the capital, a couple needs to be earning 1,865,217 kroner a year.

It's not until you get to 18th place in RealKredit's list that you find a municipality outside the Copenhagen area. T

To buy a detached house in Aarhus, a couple needs to be earning 952, 904 kroner.

The municipalities where buyers need to lowest income are Morsø in the north of Jutland (617,922 kr), Tønder on the far southwest corner of Jutland (621,336), and Lolland, the island south of Zealand (623,290 kr).

You can see the full list of 96 municipalities below.

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Can foreigners buy a summer house in Denmark?

Many people in Denmark spend their holidays living in summer houses, properties in which residence is not usually permitted year-round.

Rules preventing permanent use are in place to ensure summer house areas remain recreational in nature; to limit new construction in valuable and uninhabited coastal areas; and to protect natural landscapes from wear and tear.

READ ALSO: Summer houses in Denmark: What are the rules and when can you live in them?

While renting is a popular choice, owning a summer house is also relatively common and may be a financially viable option, depending on your budget and plans for vacationing and use of the property.

Foreign nationals who have lived in Denmark for less than five years are required to apply for permission to buy real estate with the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Civil Affairs (Civilstyrelsen). This also applies to Danes who have lived abroad.

Foreign nationals looking to buy property can face additional challenges, including minimum residency requirements and banks asking for a higher down payment on mortgages.

READ ALSO:

However, the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Civil Affairs (Civilstyrelsen) states that, for both permanent homes and non-permanent or seasonal dwellings like summer houses, foreign nationals can be given permission to purchase properties, even if they have lived in Denmark for less than five years.

The application for to acquire a seasonal dwelling (such as a summer house) can be found here. The rules can be explored in full detail here.

I have lived in Denmark for less than five years. Will my application be accepted?

Citizens of EU countries are normally exempted from residence requirements because of EU free movement laws. As such, citizenship and not residence or previous stay in Denmark is decisive and EU citizens can generally acquire real estate in Denmark.

However, if you want to buy a holiday home this does not apply and the five-year residence requirement takes precedence – regardless of whether you have EU nationality.

If you don’t meet the five-year rule, you can still be granted permission to buy a summer house if you are consider to have a “special connection” to Denmark.

This can take the form of close family in Denmark or professional, cultural or financial connections, or previous stays in the country. These are taken into account by the Justice Ministry when it reviews an application.

For companies, different rules apply to those for private individuals, and companies have more leeway to purchase property in Denmark.

However, companies are only allowed to buy holiday homes in Denmark for commercial purposes or to use them for year-round residence. These means rules for private individuals cannot be circumvented by purchasing the properties under a business.

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