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Swedish Facts Sheet on Real Estate Property
The real estate agent
In Sweden a real estate agent is considered to be an individual and not a company, which means that each agent personally holds the right and the responsibility to perform his/her profession as a real estate agent. Commissions are paid by the seller. The estate agent is the middleman and its part of his/her commission to take into consideration both the vendors and buyers interest. The estate agent draws up the purchase agreement and handles the necessary paperwork and acts as intermediary when he/she communicates buying and selling prices with all parties involved.
There is a code of ethics for Swedish real estate agents that the agent must comply with. The Board of national real estate agents (Fastighetsm?klarn?mnden) regulates the activity of the real estate agents and secures that all agents abide to the law and the business rules.
The land law (Jordabalken)
The land law (Jordabalken) is the main law which regulates the purchase and sale of real estate, mortgages in real property and the rights of the real estate owner. The law is supplemented by other statutes, government ordinances and acts.
The Land Registry Authorities
All registered property units in Sweden have specific names and codes (for example Stockholm, L?rkan 3:15). The Land Registry contains information concerning registered encumbrances, mortgage deed granted in the property, the registered owner, the most recent transfer, including the purchase price. The Land Registry is computerized and public for everyone. By paying a small fee everyone can obtain the information that they need.
The Land Registry Authorities have seven offices in Sweden, located together with seven District Courts.
The formalities
The selling of a real estate is strict. An agreement of selling and buying a real estate has to be in writing. The deed must include at least the following information: the seller and buyer, the price, the land being conveyed and a declaration by the seller that he sells the real estate to the buyer. The deed has of course to be signed by the seller and buyer.
An agent or a lawyer is often involved in the buying/selling of a real estate property. But it?s not required to engage an agent or a lawyer. The seller and buyer have the possibility to handle the transaction without involving other actors. No notaries are involved in the transaction.
Foreign citizens have the same opportunities as Swedish citizens to purchase real estate in Sweden.
Within three months the transaction has to be registered. Otherwise a court will prescribe the buyer to register the transaction.
Investigating the real estate
The buyer has an extensive duty to carefully investigate the real estate. If the buyer discovers defects after that the agreement with the seller is signed, the consequences will be that the buyer have to accept defects that he should have discovered during his examination of the house. If the buyer should have expected that there could be such a defect on the property that later was found, the buyer also can?t hold the seller responsible for the defect. This makes it very important that the buyer carries out the investigation of the real estate orderly.
Transfer tax
Stamp duty is charged on registration of the transaction and is 1.5 % for private houses (one-family or two-family houses are classified as private houses). For commercial real estates the stamp duty is 3.0 %. Usually the buyer pays for the cost of the duty stamp.
Real estate tax and income tax
You must pay real estate tax in Sweden if you own a one-family or two-family property. The real estate tax is calculated on the basis of the assessed value of the property. The real estate tax is 1 per cent of the tax assessment value. The real estate value is expected to equal approximately 75 percent of the market value of the property. Newly built residental buildings are exempt from tax for the first five years and pay tax at 50 % of the full rate in the following five years.
Profit on the sale of private residences is taxable. Two-thirds of the estimated profit is taxable. The rate of income tax on the taxable profit is 30 percent.
In Sweden a real estate agent is considered to be an individual and not a company, which means that each agent personally holds the right and the responsibility to perform his/her profession as a real estate agent. Commissions are paid by the seller. The estate agent is the middleman and its part of his/her commission to take into consideration both the vendors and buyers interest. The estate agent draws up the purchase agreement and handles the necessary paperwork and acts as intermediary when he/she communicates buying and selling prices with all parties involved.
There is a code of ethics for Swedish real estate agents that the agent must comply with. The Board of national real estate agents (Fastighetsm?klarn?mnden) regulates the activity of the real estate agents and secures that all agents abide to the law and the business rules.
The land law (Jordabalken)
The land law (Jordabalken) is the main law which regulates the purchase and sale of real estate, mortgages in real property and the rights of the real estate owner. The law is supplemented by other statutes, government ordinances and acts.
The Land Registry Authorities
All registered property units in Sweden have specific names and codes (for example Stockholm, L?rkan 3:15). The Land Registry contains information concerning registered encumbrances, mortgage deed granted in the property, the registered owner, the most recent transfer, including the purchase price. The Land Registry is computerized and public for everyone. By paying a small fee everyone can obtain the information that they need.
The Land Registry Authorities have seven offices in Sweden, located together with seven District Courts.
The formalities
The selling of a real estate is strict. An agreement of selling and buying a real estate has to be in writing. The deed must include at least the following information: the seller and buyer, the price, the land being conveyed and a declaration by the seller that he sells the real estate to the buyer. The deed has of course to be signed by the seller and buyer.
An agent or a lawyer is often involved in the buying/selling of a real estate property. But it?s not required to engage an agent or a lawyer. The seller and buyer have the possibility to handle the transaction without involving other actors. No notaries are involved in the transaction.
Foreign citizens have the same opportunities as Swedish citizens to purchase real estate in Sweden.
Within three months the transaction has to be registered. Otherwise a court will prescribe the buyer to register the transaction.
Investigating the real estate
The buyer has an extensive duty to carefully investigate the real estate. If the buyer discovers defects after that the agreement with the seller is signed, the consequences will be that the buyer have to accept defects that he should have discovered during his examination of the house. If the buyer should have expected that there could be such a defect on the property that later was found, the buyer also can?t hold the seller responsible for the defect. This makes it very important that the buyer carries out the investigation of the real estate orderly.
Transfer tax
Stamp duty is charged on registration of the transaction and is 1.5 % for private houses (one-family or two-family houses are classified as private houses). For commercial real estates the stamp duty is 3.0 %. Usually the buyer pays for the cost of the duty stamp.
Real estate tax and income tax
You must pay real estate tax in Sweden if you own a one-family or two-family property. The real estate tax is calculated on the basis of the assessed value of the property. The real estate tax is 1 per cent of the tax assessment value. The real estate value is expected to equal approximately 75 percent of the market value of the property. Newly built residental buildings are exempt from tax for the first five years and pay tax at 50 % of the full rate in the following five years.
Profit on the sale of private residences is taxable. Two-thirds of the estimated profit is taxable. The rate of income tax on the taxable profit is 30 percent.
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