Today’s big topic: House prices are rising outside Copenhagen too
House prices in the capital are rising sharply, and the rest of the country is keeping pace. Here, a residential neighborhood in Mørkhøj.
What’s happening?
For a long time, attention has been focused on owner-occupied apartments in Copenhagen, where prices have skyrocketed. Now, it looks like houses are following suit across the country.
House prices rose 1.4 percent in May. That is a notable increase on its own, but even more striking is that it comes after prices also climbed 1.7 percent in April and 1.4 percent in March, according to new figures from Boligsiden.
The past few months of explosive gains mean prices are now up 9.1 percent over the last year. That is the second-highest annual increase on record, surpassed only by the surge in house prices during the coronavirus lockdowns in 2021. And although there are differences across the country, prices are rising quite sharply in every region, the figures show.
Why it matters!
The relatively large increases nationwide may be due to wages rising faster than prices, Nordea notes. Inflation in May was 1.9 percent, according to Statistics Denmark. In the private sector, wages are rising by 3.8 percent a year, according to the Confederation of Danish Employers’ wage statistics.
»Homebuyers are willing to stretch a long way to get their hands on the right house. And one explanation is probably rising real wages«, says Lise Nytoft Bergmann, a housing economist at Nordea Kredit.
But the question, then, is whether homebuyers are stretching too far. If buyers assume prices will keep rising steeply, they will be willing to pay more for a home, which in itself can push prices even higher. The central bank recently warned about this self-reinforcing effect.
»When prices rise this sharply, and we simultaneously see signs that the development is increasingly driven by expectations, vulnerability to a later drop in prices increases«, central bank governor Ulrik Nødgaard said in May.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– The first European country approves Wegovy in pill form
The first European country has now approved Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy in pill form. The Danish pharmaceutical company has secured approval for the weight-loss pill in the United Kingdom, Novo Nordisk said Thursday in a press release. According to Novo Nordisk, 15 million people in the United Kingdom are living with severe obesity.
– The World Cup might be among the most polluting sporting events in history
The report, FIFA’s Climate Blind Spot, published by the British think tank New Weather Institute, finds that the tournament as a whole will emit at least 9 million tons of CO2. By comparison, all Danish passenger cars emitted 6 million tons in 2024. The 9 million tons is more than twice the average for World Cups from 2010 to 2022, which stood at 4.7 million tons.
The sharp increase is primarily due to the fact that this year’s World Cup has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams. Emissions are further worsened by the tournament’s 104 matches being played in 16 different cities spread far apart geographically.
– Think tank: Denmark has only a one percent chance of meeting key climate target
Hardly has the new government, which calls itself the greenest in history, settled into the ministerial offices before the think tank Concito throws a bomb through the door. In a new analysis, the think tank states that Denmark has less than a one percent chance of meeting its most important climate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990.
Concito concludes that successive governments have failed to intervene while a long series of climate initiatives have been delayed. A year ago, a similar analysis from Concito showed that there was a 20 percent chance of reaching the climate target.
This weekends itinerary
Where to eat?
A mix of roe in a beurre blanc with anchovies and pieces of white asparagus was exactly the masterpiece the reviewer had been hoping for.
Krogs Fiskerestaurant has gotten new owners, and Politiken’s reviewer has stopped by to visit the new version of the restaurant. He was particularly impressed by the weever fish. However, he believes that the prices are on the high side.
»With the first course, by contrast, the head chef showed how, by understanding the ingredients’ inherent character, you can make something magical out of them«, writes food critic Joakim Grundahl.
Read his full review here.
What to do?
Copenhagen Photo Festival takes place from Thursday, June 11, through Sunday, June 21.
Haven’t you quite given up on your dreams of becoming an analog photographer — or are you just looking for inspiration for your semi-artsy Instagram? Then there’s a festival for you this week: Copenhagen Photo Festival, where you can explore how images shape the way we see the world. It happens through exhibitions, talks, performances and events from Thursday June 11 to Sunday June 21 around the city — and at the festival’s hub, the Royal Danish Theatre in central Copenhagen.
Read more here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.