Photo: Øyvind Balle

Unless you are from these parts, you may have noticed that Stavanger is not your typical real estate market. Stavanger boasts thousands of wooden and stone houses, interspersed with towers, blocks, and row houses. It is possible to live on an island off the coast of the city, by the beach out in Sola, on a farm with a sea-view on Ullandhaug hill, or near the mountains of Sandnes.

There is more demand for housing than there is supply, and rented accommodations are limited and quite costly, although that has been changing lately. It may be worthwhile considering buying rather than letting to find your ideal place in the Stavanger region.

Housing Seminar from the Stavanger Chamber Expat Center

The Stavanger Chamber of Commerce’s Expat Centre, called the International Network of Norway (INN)  regularly holds seminars on the housing market in Stavanger. This short seminar is useful for learning more about the ins and outs of buying property in Norway. It is a lot different than other places.

For example, in the seminar you will learn that buyers do not have their own real estate agents; only sellers do. If you are bidding on a house, everyone else who has signed up on the agent’s list will be told about the price of your bid. Nothing is a secret, except the bidder’s name. It is common for property to get into bidding wars, even during the current economic conditions.

Stavanger Partner Information Network

The volunteers at SPIN collated information on real estate websites that can be very useful for an overview of the housing market in Stavanger. They explain why the prices here are higher than in other parts of Norway (in a nutshell: the oil industry) and the types of dwellings available.

Renting Vs Buying

Mortgages are subsidized in Norway, which means you can receive a deduction from your taxes if you are making loan repayments. This does not apply to renters. Therefore, it could be worth your while to buy as opposed to rent. Pay attention to all of the different costs when purchasing a home, and then compare it to similar properties available for rental.

Renting is often the best option for expats who have housing allowances and/or need to be flexible with timing. The available properties for renting, at least in the Stavanger region, can be fairly grim however. The nicer properties are very highly priced, partly due to the taxes those letting the apartments pay on the rental income they generate. This is taxed at approximately 28%. Landlords can get around this tax by letting out apartments in their main residence, however. This explains the large supply of basement (søkkel) apartments in Stavanger.

Renting an Apartment

This is where it gets personal! From my experience there does not seem to be many central, spacious apartments for rent in the 10,000 NOK range in this city unless you are happy to live in a basement. You can find a nice apartment that would be in that range if you are paying a mortgage though, with the added tax incentives for deducting said mortgage from your final tax bill. If you are able to pay upwards of 12,000 NOK per month, you can find an unfurnished apartment in a decent neighborhood if you look hard enough.

In years past rented accommodations have been hard to get, but lately the market has loosened up a bit, possibly due to the financial crisis that has rocked much of the world.  This is why there is a “wishing to rent”  (ønskes leie) section of the housing section in local newspapers and on finn.no. Here apartment-seekers post a profile of themselves, and landlords contact them if they are interested in renting to them.

When we first came to town and were looking for an apartment to rent we put up an advert like that too. We didn’t get any calls though! We did manage to find an apartment, but only after my partner had an interview with the landlord was he able to take the next step and view the flat. I imagine it might be even more difficult for non-expats or foreigners to rent in these conditions. How are things kept fair, i.e. non-discriminatory in such a housing market?

To get started, here are some places to check out available flats:

• Finn (Almost Every property is listed here)
• Up-to-date rentals in Stavanger
• Dnb
• Eiendomsmegler1
• Notar
• Postbanken
• Relocation.no (Lists the most expensive, i.e. marked-up properties geared towards expats)
• Sandnes eiendom

Buying an apartment: how does it work?

Sellers have what is called a “visning”, or Open House, at a set time. Typically a visning lasts for one hour. Potential buyers are then able to write their name on a list, and the real estate agent will inform them if there has been a bid made on the property. This gives other potential buyers the opportunity to put in a bid, with full knowledge of what the other potential buyer has offered.

This has the effect of both increasing transparency in the bidding process, as well as potentially increasing the cost of what everyone pays for property. Foreigners may not know the most effective way for bidding on and securing their desired property – this process demands strategy on the part of the buyer.

The seller must wait 24 hours after the visning to accept a bid. The seller has discretion on who to sell to – it is usually, but not always, sold to the highest bidder.

Banks

Banks typically require a 20% deposit on property loans. In order for your bid to be accepted by the seller, you need to produce a certificate from the bank stating you have the resources to pay. This certificate can take a few days to get, depending on the current economic climate and your standing with the bank, so if there is a property you think you want to put an offer on, it is  wise to speak to your bank before the day of the visning.

Housing Terms

There are some terms that will help you navigate the Norwegian if you haven’t picked up the housing lingo yet. You will see most of the words below added to other words, i.e. compound, so you can understand that a “leie” apartment is a rental, an “eie” apartment is one to purchase, and so on.

• leilighet= apartment
• enebolig= one family house
• rekkehus= rowhouse
• tomannsbolig= two family house
• blokk= apartment block
• Leie= Rental
• Bolig= dwelling
• Eie = own
• tomt= empty space
• Bytt= bid
• Bad = toilet/bathroom/washroom
• Rom = bedroom
• Gang= hallway
• Primærrom= usable space
• Bruksareal= actual space
• Uetg. = unter etage, or basement/cellar
• 1etg.= ground floor (first floor in North America and Norway)
• loft= attic
• stue= living room
• dusj= shower
• vaskerom= laundry/washing room
• hytte= cabin

Finn.no is by far the most comprehensive website in this area  as it combines listings from virtually all real estate agents. Most real estate agents speak English well, so once you decode the websites (the google translate tool can be your ally here!) you will be prepared to set-up viewings.