Another Norwegian politician is in legal trouble, after the Mayor of Nittedal north of Oslo was charged with serious corruption after several months of a secret investigation. Hilde Thorkildsen of the Labour Party insists, however, that she’s done nothing wrong. Nittedal’s mayor was called in on Tuesday for questioning by Norway’s white collar crime unit […]
Housing sales fell but prices stable
March 30, 2020
Residential real estate activity declined sharply in the week following the government’s imposition of Corona containment measures. Numbers released last week show a 36 percent decline in sales, to 1,190, compared to the same week last year. There was also a 9 percent decline in the number of homes put up for sale. Prices seemed […]
Housing market keeps cooling off
November 5, 2019
Housing prices have tumbled again on a monthly basis, and are now just 2.4 percent higher than they were at this time last year. It’s also taking longer for homes to sell, leading real estate analysts to believe that the market is cooling down. That’s actually been a political goal, after years of ever-rising prices […]
Oslo set to refund some property tax
August 9, 2019
The City of Oslo, which lost a key portion of a lawsuit filed by more than 1,000 property tax payers, is now poised to refund NOK 388 million to 55,000 of its residents. Officials promise no city services will be cut in return. The Labour Party-led city government in Oslo was simply too quick to […]
Housing prices slid but market still strong
August 6, 2019
Prices for residential property in Norway were down an average 1.1 percent in July, but economists don’t see any negative trend. Prices rose in Oslo, Bergen and in Western Norway as a whole. “We were prepared for weaker residential price development in July,” Marius Gonsholt Hov, senior economist for Handelsbanken Capital Markets, told newspaper Dagens […]
Real estate tycoon honeymoons at 95
July 16, 2019
Norway’s 95-year-old real estate investor and hotel tycoon Olav Thon has been on an albeit short honeymoon this summer, after marrying his long-time sweetheart and former judge Sissel Berdal Haga (age 78). The couple has proven, according to Oslo Mayor Marianne Borgen, that there’s no age limit on love. “If this isn’t the ultimate happiness, […]
Supreme Court hears property tax case
May 28, 2019
A class action lawsuit against Oslo’s property tax system, filed on behalf of 3,400 Oslo residents, made it into the Supreme Court this week. It claims the Labour Party-led Oslo city government’s property tax is illegal because its burden isn’t equally shared. “We hope we win the court’s support for our objection in principle that […]
Tycoon wants to take over Oslo tower
February 22, 2019
Tryvanns Tower still literally towers over Oslo, but it’s been closed and abandoned for the past two years. Now local real estate tycoon Christian Ringnes wants to buy it from the city, and has big plans for a major renovation. “Tryvanns Tower is one of my childhood icons,” Ringnes told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “I want […]
Røkke’s tower can’t save the seas
February 14, 2019
Norwegian industrialist Kjell Inge Røkke has been met with thumbs down from political leaders in the Oslo suburb of Bærum, who refused to approve his plan for a skyscraper at Fornebu. Now Røkke may take his plan elsewhere, or even out of Norway. The building plans unveiled last year in the presence of Prime Minister […]
Housing prices rose again, sales brisk
February 6, 2019
January turned out to be anything but a slow month in Norway’s housing market. Prices rose, and the number of homes sold broke a new record. Numbers released this week by the brokers’ association Eiendom Norge showed prices up an average of 3.6 percent over January of 2018. That was described as “moderate” compared to […]
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