Transfer of properties

Updated: 27 October 2023

Next update: 29 January 2024

Dwellings transferred on the free market
Dwellings transferred on the free market
3rd quarter 2023
34 928
Registered transfers of real property and properties owned through a housing cooperative. Preliminary figures
Registered transfers of real property and properties owned through a housing cooperative. Preliminary figures
3rd quarter 20233rd quarter 2022 - 3rd quarter 20233rd quarter 2018 - 3rd quarter 2023
All transfers59 912-5.3
Real estates48 399-6.4-6.3
Cooperative estates11 513-0.6
Dwelling properties on the free market sale, total34 928-5.9
Dwelling properties on owned site, free market sale25 286-6.4-2.1
Dwelling properties on leased site, free market sale1 115-3.5-1.8
Properties owned through a housing cooperative, free market sale8 527-4.5
Holiday properties , free market sale, total2 689-16.9-23.0
Holiday properties on owned site, free market sale2 189-14.6-20.4
Holiday properties on leased site, free market sale500-25.7-32.5
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Transfers of dwelling properties with building, free market sale. Preliminary figures
    Transfers of dwelling properties with building, free market sale. Preliminary figures
    3rd quarter 2023
    Transfers, totalTotal purchase price (NOK million)Purchase price per transfer (NOK 1000)Transfers of titleTotal purchase price, transfer of title (NOK million)Purchase price per transfer of title (NOK 1 000)Transfers of leasesTotal purchase price on transfer of lease (NOK million)Purchase price, transfer of lease (NOK 1 000)
    The whole country26 401126 2884 78325 286121 8534 8191 1154 4353 977
    Viken6 23733 7545 4125 94132 4315 4592961 3234 470
    Oslo3 30625 8437 8173 11524 7437 9431911 1005 760
    Innlandet1 7165 6163 2731 6745 5123 293421042 473
    Vestfold og Telemark1 8358 4434 6011 7237 9874 6361124564 072
    Agder1 7826 3963 5891 7316 2593 616511362 675
    Rogaland2 58310 7144 1482 54410 5784 158391363 486
    Vestland3 11713 2954 2653 04613 0034 269712924 117
    Møre og Romsdal1 2104 3083 5611 1964 2673 56714422 975
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage2 70211 1804 1382 59510 8434 1781073383 155
    Nordland - Nordlánnda9233 2073 4748633 0533 538601542 558
    Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku9903 5313 5678583 1773 7021323542 685
    Explanation of symbols
  • Free market sales of property owned through a housing coopertive. Number, purchase price and joint debt. Preliminary figures
    Free market sales of property owned through a housing coopertive. Number, purchase price and joint debt. Preliminary figures
    3rd quarter 2023
    Transfers, totalTotal purchase price (NOK million)Purchase price per transfer (NOK 1000)Joint debt in total (NOK million)1 Joint debt per transfer (NOK 1000)Total purchase price per transfer included joint debt (NOK 1 000)
    The whole country8 52726 8793 1523 4554053 557
    Viken1 5454 3352 8065373483 154
    Oslo2 59911 9644 6039493654 968
    Innlandet3187052 2171183702 587
    Vestfold og Telemark8151 8562 2774185132 790
    Agder2735522 0201244542 474
    Rogaland4401 0792 4532194982 951
    Vestland1 0272 6782 6083603502 958
    Møre og Romsdal1783211 804663702 174
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage7822 0802 6603083933 053
    Nordland - Nordlánnda2906632 2881685802 868
    Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku2606452 4801887223 202
    County not stated000000
    1Figures on joint debt are based on information on sellers joint debt in the housing cooperative at the end of the year before the sale took place. If figures on joint debt are missing, it is estimated.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Transfers of holiday properties with building, free market sale. Preliminary figures
    Transfers of holiday properties with building, free market sale. Preliminary figures
    3rd quarter 2023
    Transfers, totalTotal purchase price (NOK million)Purchase price per transfer (NOK 1000)Transfers of titleTotal purchase price, transfer of title (NOK million)Purchase price per transfer of title (NOK 1000)Transfers of leasesTotal purchase price on transfer of lease (NOK million)Purchase price, transfer of lease (NOK 1000)
    The whole country2 6896 5932 4522 1895 4922 5095001 1002 201
    Oslo and Viken5821 8153 1184691 5363 2751132792 465
    Innlandet4501 1382 5293388382 4811123002 676
    Vestfold og Telemark2548713 4281936413 322612293 762
    Agder2858643 0332417813 23944841 904
    Rogaland1393312 3781052612 48634692 044
    Vestland2575142 0002494992 0068151 815
    Møre og Romsdal1241971 5861201941 61643688
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage3025021 6622454311 75957711 245
    Nordland - Nordlánnda1932381 2321522051 3504133796
    Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku1031241 201771051 3672618709
    Explanation of symbols
  • Registered transfers of real property
    Registered transfers of real property
    3rd quarter 2023
    TransfersNotified amount (NOK million)
    The whole country48 399154 153
    Viken10 38640 433
    Oslo4 23228 132
    Innlandet4 2118 457
    Vestfold og Telemark3 65111 113
    Agder3 6319 302
    Rogaland4 14912 924
    Vestland5 81116 111
    Møre og Romsdal2 6175 507
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage4 86413 372
    Nordland - Nordlánnda2 4234 335
    Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku2 4244 467
    Explanation of symbols
  • Registered transfers of real property, by type of property
    Registered transfers of real property, by type of property
    3rd quarter 20203rd quarter 20213rd quarter 20223rd quarter 20231
    All properties56 74157 48451 69148 399
    Dwelling property total40 88442 38439 27537 160
    Dwelling property with building39 66941 12938 28536 376
    Dwelling property without building1 2151 255990784
    Holiday property total10 3939 7107 4926 513
    Holiday property with buildingl9 0908 3616 4915 808
    Holiday property without building1 3031 3491 001705
    Agricultural/forestry property total1 4611 5691 4061 406
    Agricultural/forestry property with building1 2271 2841 1741 155
    Agricultural/forestry property without building234285232251
    Commercial/office property total762735672638
    Commercial/office property with building707675620599
    Commercial/office property without building55605239
    Industrial property total546590660500
    Industrial property with building444471565440
    Industrial property without building1021199560
    Communication purposes108748185
    Other2 4062 1971 9481 797
    Not specified181225157300
    1Preliminary figures.
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The statistics comprise the number and value of registered transfers of real property and registered transfers of property owned through a housing cooperative. For dwellings and holiday homes sold on the free market, both total and average purchase prices are published.

Registered amount

Registered amount comprises mainly purchase prices. If the transfer is free of charge, the value of the property stated on the deed of conveyance is used.

Average purchase price per transfer

An average purchase price is calculated for the following types of properties and transfers:

  • Dwelling property with building, title to land, free market sale and purchase price reported.
  • Holiday property with building, title to land, free market sale and purchase price reported.
  • Holiday home on leased site, free market sale and purchase price reported.
  • Dwelling owned through a housing cooperative.

Transfer

A transfer does not only comprise ordinary sale, but also donation, compulsory sale and eminent domain, licensed decedent estate, inheritance of decedent estate and other. A transfer can also comprise one or several cadastral units. For properties with more than one owner, a transfer can also be a part of a property.

Free market sale

Free market sale means that the property is sold for a price corresponding to the market value. The property is not always announced for sale on the free market.

Name: Transfer of properties
Topic: Construction, housing and property

29 January 2024

Division for Housing, Property, Spatial and Agricultural Statistics

The statistics are published at county and municipality level.

The statistics are published quarterly. Preliminary figures are published about 6 weeks after end of quarter. Usually, final figures are available about 32 weeks after end of quarter. The difference between preliminary and final figures is under 1 per cent.

The statistics are based on the date of registration. This date can be several weeks or months later than the date of sale. Data from finn.no from 2016 show that dwelling properties in average are sold 2-3 mounths before the date of registration.

Not relevant

Microdata are stored in Statistics Norway.

The aim is to provide statistics on the extent of transfers of real property in Norway. The statistics have comprised the present level of details since 1991. With fewer details the statistics go back to 1836. However, statistics are lacking for the years 1981-1983.

As from 2017 registered transfers of property owned through a housing cooperative are included.

Users are public institutions, estate agents, media and people in general.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. Read more about principles for equal treatement of all users on ssb.no.

Since 1991 Statistics Norway has worked out the quarterly House Price Index , which provides current price statistics for the housing market.

Statistics Norway also works out statistics on registered transfers of agricultural properties . This statistics are based on the properties defined as agricultural properties in the farm register owned by Norwegian Agriculture Agency.

The Statistics Act §§ 2-1, 3-2.

Not relevant

The statistics comprise all registered transfer of real property (and from 2017 registered transfer of property owned through a housing cooperative) and not only real sales. In addition to sales on the free market, the statistics also include donations, forced sales, expropriations, licensed decent estates, inheritance of decent estate and other registered transfers of title. The statistics include three types of real property: parcels, leases and sections of buildings registered as freehold.

Transfer of real property may occur without registration, but this is very uncommon.

A few transfers include more than one dwelling property unit or holiday property unit.

The statistics are based on data from two governmental administrative registers: the Register of Deeds ("Grunnboka") and the Norwegian Cadastre system (real properties, addresses, buildings and cadastral map). The Norwegian Mapping Authority has been managing the latter register for many years and has in the period 2004-2007 gradually taken over the management of the Register of Deeds from the local courts.

The statistics comprise all registered transfers of real property.

Data from the registers mentioned in chapter 3.2 are forwarded via file transfer and API to Statistics Norway.

The data are subject to computerized controls to detect lacks, errors, extreme values and lack of coherence. Data are corrected by means of additional information from the Register of Real Properties, Addresses and Buildings.

Mainly, the statistics comprise counting of transfers by various characteristics, e.g. type of property, type of transfer, with/without building and type of dwelling. Registered amount in NOK is also added up.

Registered amount is estimated as follows:

If the purchase price is above NOK 1, the registered amount is based on the purchase price. If the purchase price is NOK 1 or less, the registered amount is based on the value of the property stated on the deed of conveyance.

As from 2017 registered transfer of property owned through a housing cooperative is included. Data on share of common debt in the cooperatve come from tax statistics for persons. If data on debt is missing, an average value is used.

Not relevant

Figures based on less than three units (transfers) are not published if this causes risk for identifying any of the units concerned. Furthermore, figures are not published if more than 90 per cent of the registered amount originates from a single unit.

Statistics on transfers of real property exist as a continuous time series from 1836 to 1980. The statistics show the number of transfers and the registered amount, distributed on urban and rural areas. In addition, as from 1852 to 1980 a time series is available on average price per unit of assessed site value for agricultural properties sold on the free market.

Up to and including 1980, the statistics were based on aggregated data forwarded directly from local courts to Statistics Norway. The Register of Real Properties, Addresses and Buildings was established around 1980. The intension was to use this register as base for the statistics as from 1981. However, at that time data from several municipalities were lacking and the data quality for municipalities included was partially poor. Due to this, statistics are lacking for the years 1981-1983. As from 1984 statistics are published again, but for some years data were still of rather poor quality. Statistics at present level of details are published as from 1991.

Before 2006, the statistics were published in this way: 1st quarter, 1st half year, 1.-3. quarter and the whole year. As from 2006, the statistis are published quarterly.

Average price per transfer is published for transfers of dwelling properties with building and holiday properties with building. Properties without purchase price reported are not included. Dwelling property refers to detached houses, semi-detached houses, row-houses, flats in multi dwelling houses etc. Percentage of different dwelling types varies over time. For holiday properties a few transfers may include more than one holiday property unit. Due to these circumstances, the average value do not describe the price trend for a specific type of dwelling or holiday property, particularly not when the average figure is based on just a few transfers.

Therefore, average prices are not published for a lower level than county.

See the section revisions.

The statistics are based mainly on information reported in connection with registration of title to property and thus considered to be reliable. Misclassification of type of property and type of dwelling may occur.

In the period 2004-2007 the number of registered transfers classified as other type of property and other type of dwelling has increased. Registered transfers not specified have also increased. During the control routine we are not able to replace all of the transfers with the correct classification.

Errors originate from data processing in Statistics Norway are considered to be insignificant.

There are formal procedures to be followed when registering a real property. Consequently, non-response does not exist. Delay in the updating of the relevant registers may cause minor lacks in the preliminary statistics.

As from 2017 registered transfer of property owned through a housing cooperative is included. Data on the share of common debt in the cooperatve come from tax statistics for persons. If data on debt is missing, an average value is used.

The figures for dwelling and holiday properties in free sale for the years 2015-2020 have been changed. This is because several dwellings and a small number of holiday properties have by mistake been changed from the free sale to donation. These have now been changed back to free sale.

By linking information about the buyers and sellers involved in the sales with information from the National Population Register, we have been able to determine if any of the buyers are family members of the sellers. Up to three sellers and two buyers from each sale were included in the assessment of whether the buyer is related to the seller.

The following relatives are included in the test:

  • Spouse
  • Parents
  • Children
  • Siblings
  • Grandparents
  • Aunts/uncles

Sales that are declared as free market sales should be placed in the ‘other’ category if the price is lower than the market price. The guidelines for the statistics have not included any criteria for inclusion as a free market sale in terms of how the dwelling is sold or who buys the property. The only requirement has been for it to be sold at market price. This is often difficult to assess.

We have therefore examined how house sales to family members that are categorised as free market sales differ from the rest of the sales. We have only included sales with title transfers here. The average purchase price for dwellings sold to family members was significantly lower than the average for all free market sales. The low purchase price suggests that many of these dwellings were sold at a reduced price. Sales that are declared as free market sales have been placed in the ‘other category from 2015 if the buyer is related to the seller.

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