Sweden has a problem with apartments, empty shops and offices offer a chance

Sweden has a problem with apartments, empty shops and offices offer a chance

The pandemic of the new coronavirus mainly affected the retail sector, but to a large extent also the commercial real estate sector. The corona crisis also affected these sectors in Sweden, where, as in other countries, many shops and offices remained empty. On the other hand, in the Nordic country, this opens up opportunities to address the long-term problem of shortages of houses and flats. The housing market has been the Achilles heel of the Swedish economy for years, Reuters reported. A large number of regulatory measures make construction costs among the highest in Europe in Sweden. This increases household debt, which according to the central bank poses a risk to economic stability. The government is therefore examining whether it will be possible to convert empty commercial premises into flats and thus partially solve housing problems. The Swedish National Housing Council should simplify the rules in the real estate market, which would allow the transformation of shops and offices into housing units, while informing the government by the end of February. Changing the use of real estate is nothing new. New York, for example, is familiar with this, where in the 20th century they turned one of the residential areas into an industrial center and in the last 20 years transformed it into a modern location with apartments and shops. However, the pandemic has significantly strengthened such considerations. According to a study by the universities of Lund and Gothenburg and the European Institute for Behavioral Analysis, about a fifth of Swedes will remain out of work after a pandemic. This means that companies will need less office space. "After the end of the pandemic, the situation will not return to its original state, so it makes no sense for us to rent premises as before the corona crisis," said Helen Stoye, deputy head of the Swedish Statistical Office. She recently signed a new agreement on the lease of premises, the area of ​​which will be reduced by almost half compared to the current ones. In addition to office space, the number of empty shops also increased. The stone shops paid for the quarantine measures that led to their closure and the transfer of people to the Internet. "The pandemic has further increased the impact of e-commerce," said Mikael Soderlundh of Pangea, a real estate consultancy. He added that the possibilities of several stone shops are very small in the future. The problem, however, is that some commercial buildings are not suitable for housing. Some of them have a problem with water or lighting, others are too close to the main roads. In others, any transformation would be too expensive. This means that Swedes will have housing problems for many years to come.