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PROPERTY

Where are Norway’s cheapest and most expensive homes?  

Norway's property market is a tale of two extremes when it comes to prices. Here are the homes that offer the best value for money and those with a much higher premium. 

Pictured are exclusive apartments in Tjuvholmen in Oslo.
These are Norway's most and least expensive areas to buy property. Pictured are exclusive apartments in Tjuvholmen in Oslo. Photo by Gunnar Ridderström on Unsplash

The average cost of a property in Norway during the opening months of 2023 is around 4.3 million kroner and has risen 4.5 percent already this year, the latest figures show. 

Despite many expecting a significant downturn in the Norwegian property market, house prices have performed steadily, if not spectacularly.

Unsurprisingly, the capital – Oslo – is the most expensive place to step on the property ladder. The most up-to-date figures show that the price per square metre to buy in Oslo is between 72,307 kroner and 96,955 kroner. We’ve used the latest price per square metre figures from national data agency Statistics Norway as average prices overall for the whole country can be challenging to find. 

READ ALSO: Are Norway’s mortgage requirements different for foreign residents?

The areas around the capital, primarily those within commuting distance, are the next most expensive places to buy. A home in Bærum set house hunters in the area back in the region of 82,198 kroner per square metre for an apartment or 65,918 for a terraced or semi-detached house, and 67,093 kroner for a detached property. 

Typically apartments were the most expensive per square metre due to their size. After that, it’s more of a toss-up of whether or not a semi-detached is cheaper than a fully detached property when calculating the average price per square metre. 

Overall though, detached and semi-detached houses are typically Norway’s most expensive property type. The exception to this is high-end penthouse apartments in Oslo. 

After Bærum, Lørenskog, Lillestørm and Frogn (all in the surrounding areas of Oslo) are the priciest areas to buy. Other areas around Oslo with high property prices are Drammen, Nordre Follo, Asker and Nittedal. 

Lunner was the cheapest of all the municipalities bordering Oslo to purchase property. There it was two to three times cheaper to buy a property (per square metre) than in Oslo. 

Trondheim and Tromsø were the 2nd and 3rd priciest of the big cities outside of Oslo and its surrounding areas. The average cost of an apartment in both was around 65,000 kroner per square metre for an apartment. The price of an apartment in Bergen was slightly lower at 62,000 kroner for every square metre of space. 

Stavanger was considerably cheaper, with an apartment in the southwesterly city costing just a shade over 50,000 kroner per square metre in 2022.

Looking at things on a more national scale, the counties of Oslo, Viken, and Trondheim are the most expensive places to purchase an apartment. The two largest counties in Norway were the most expensive places to buy detached or terraced houses. 

Vestfold and Telemark was the third most expensive location for detached homes, while terraced properties in Trøndelag took bronze for the most costly in Norway. 

For an overview of the most expensive individual properties in Norway by asking price currently on the market, you can use this filter on the ad listing site Finn.no. For those looking for a home at a cut-price deal, you can also view the homes when sorted from lowest to highest.

Kvinesdal, Kristiansund, Froland, Sveio, and Farsund were the five cheapest places for an apartment. Flats in all five cost around 26,000 kroner per square metre. Kivensdal, Froland and Farsund are all found In Agder. Farsund is located in the mouth of the Lyngdalsfjorden, offering excellent views for some of Norway’s cheapest properties per square metre. 

However, there was a relative lack of data on apartment prices compared to other property types, meaning there may be cheaper places for a flat that figures don’t exist for currently. Detached homes in Rendalen, Stor-Eidval, Dovre, Nissedal and Hjartdal were the most affordable in the country per square metre. A detached property in these areas costs between 8,900 and 11,100 kroner per square metre. 

On a more national level, Møre og Romsdal, Innlandet and Nordland are the cheapest areas in Norway to buy property. 

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NORWEGIAN HABITS

Five useful things to know before you move to Norway

Moving to a new country comes with plenty of unexpected lessons and surprises. Norway is no different, and here are six things you'll need to know before the move. 

Five useful things to know before you move to Norway

Patience 

While you may presume Norway is an efficient society, and it can be once you get the ball rolling, plenty of patience will be required. 

This is because fixing the essentials can take quite a while. In recent years, long waiting times for residence permits have become common. 

Furthermore, once you are granted residence and given an identity number, setting up things like a bank account could take weeks or months rather than days. 

When it comes to getting a job, interview stages can take a while to get going, especially if periods like the summer holidays or Easter slow things down. 

A shortage of GPs and long patient lists make doctor appointments difficult. Meanwhile, if you decide to make a home in the country, you will likely need to live there for five to eight years before becoming eligible for citizenship. 

READ ALSO: What paperwork do you need to open a bank account in Norway

Norwegian flags 

Norwegians take great pride in their country, and as a result, their flag also features quite prominently. 

If you live in an apartment block, you can normally tell when it’s a neighbour’s birthday, as they will have the Norwegian flag on display. 

Norway’s flag is also featured prominently in other celebrations and festivities. The most famous of these is May 17th or Constitution Day. However, most stores will have year-round sections where it is possible to buy Norwegian flag decorations.

Week numbers 

This one can be frustrating to come to terms with, and for many, it won’t make much sense even after living in the country for a while. 

Norwegians use week numbers to refer to points in time, either in the past of the future. It’s common for you to hear phrases like “We will be closed in week 32, but reopen in week 33 or “The project needs to be finished by week 42

It’ll be typical for a local to rattle of week numbers and expect you to know exactly where in the calendar they are talking about. 

READ ALSO: Why Norwegians use week numbers instead of dates

Reserved locals can make it hard to make friends

One of the toughest aspects of moving somewhere new is establishing a new network of friends. 

Small talk isn’t really huge in Norway, and the locals are known for their reserved and private nature. 

Its unlikely that you’ll be striking up conversations on the bus or that you’ll progress beyond more than a polite greeting with most of your neighbours. 

This is done to respect privacy rather than to be rude or cold. 

However, this can make making friends difficult as plenty of locals don’t make too many more friends in adult life and are content with their circle.

Still, it’s entirely possible to form lifelong friendships with the locals, especially if you just give it time and have something like a shared sport or hobby to break the ice. 

READ ALSO: Settling in Norway: Five places to meet new people and make friends

Festival celebrations 

Norwegians love to celebrate, and that’s why you’ll soon be marking your calendar with events like sankthansaften or syttende mai

The best thing about these festivals or days is that they come with a whole host of specific traditions or foods. 

Sankthansaften see’s people gather round bonfires to celebrate the summer solstice, it’s also typical for children to collect wild flowers to put underneath their pillows so they can dream about their future partner. 

Santa Lucia is marked every year on December 13th, and some people make special buns and see children visit old people’s homes for light processions. 

Then they are the more individual family traditions that surround New Year’s, Easter, Christmas and May 17th. 

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