Malmö

The city of Malmö in Sweden is actively addressing housing affordability and sustainability through various initiatives. The current administration aims to provide housing for diverse households in energy-efficient, climate-friendly buildings that are physically accessible and child-friendly.

Malmö's Housing Supply Program focuses on expanding access to adequate housing for low-income households and promoting diverse housing developments across the city. The city works with its public housing company to offer a range of options serving different income levels, promoting social integration.

Key strategies include:

1. Strategic land policies: The municipal land allocation policy guides development to ensure a balanced mix of housing types.

2. Municipal planning monopoly: Allows the city to regulate building rights and oversee land allocation for housing.

3. Housing agency: Facilitates access to available properties by matching home seekers with suitable options.

4. Sege Park project: Aims to create a diverse, climate-smart neighborhood with 700 homes, including condominiums, collective, detached, municipal, and private houses.

5. Modular homes (Kombohus): Offers a more affordable alternative to traditional municipal housing.

6. Energy efficiency targets: The Western Harbour eco-district aims to reduce energy consumption to 105 kWh/m², half of the current housing stock's consumption.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain in providing truly affordable housing for low-income residents, as even municipal rental homes are often not affordable for this group.

Malmö, Sweden's third-largest city, has a dynamic housing market with approximately 165,000 dwellings. The city has seen steady growth in residential property prices, with an expected annual increase of 3-5% through 2025. In 2022, around 2,550 new homes were completed, with 6,000 more under construction at the year's end.

The housing tenure in Malmö is split between rental units (51%) and tenant-owned dwellings (48%). The average monthly rent for dwellings in Malmö rose by 7.9% in 2024 to €749. While specific data on median prices per square meter for buying apartments in Malmö is not provided, the overall Swedish housing market has shown signs of recovery after a downturn in 2023.

Public housing plays a significant role in Malmö, as it does throughout Sweden. Unlike traditional social housing, Swedish public housing is open to all residents regardless of income and operates on a not-for-profit basis. Nationwide, public housing accounts for approximately 17% of the housing stock.

Cooperative housing, known as "bostadsrätter," is also prominent in Sweden, making up about 22% of the national housing stock. This model allows residents to purchase a share in the cooperative, granting them the right to live in a specific apartment, often at a more affordable rate than outright ownership.