Price index for existing dwellings, Q1 2008

Whereas the overall increase in house prices was 2.9 per cent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, prices of flats in apartment blocks fell by 4.2 per cent. The sharpest decline was seen in Oslo and Bærum, as well as Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim, where prices fell by 5.5 per cent.

Flats in apartment blocks were the only type of housing with falling prices in the last quarter. The sharpest decline was seen in Oslo and Bærum, where prices fell by 1.7 per cent.

Higher prices of detached houses and row houses

Prices of detached houses and row houses increased by 5.1 and 4.0 per cent respectively from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter this year. The strongest growth was seen outside the large cities and Akershus, where prices of row houses and detached houses were 6.7 and 6.3 per cent higher than in the first quarter of last year.

From the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter this year, prices of detached houses and row houses have increased by 3.3 and 2.1 per cent in the country as a whole.

A total of 15 570 house sales are used in the index computation for the first quarter of 2008.

Tables:

• Table 1 House price index. All dwellings. 2000=100
• Table 2 House price index. Freeholder. 2000=100
• Table 3 House price index. Housing cooperative. 2000=100
• Table 4 International comparison. Prices of detached houses. Price change the last quarter and year