Investment in Swedish real estate rose to its highest level since 2008, according to research by Savills.
The advisory firm said investment volumes reached SEK160bn (€17.2bn) last year, with SEK69bn transacted in the final quarter.
Increasing liquidity had, Savills said, resulted in deals increasing by 26% year on year.
Average deal size rose to just under SEK300m from SEK235m in 2013.
Savills said last year saw increased appetite from international investors for Swedish property, investing SEK29bn, compared with SEK14bn in 2013.
One of Scandinavia’s largest deals closed in the final weeks of last year, with the Starwood Capital Group’s global opportunity fund buying SveaReal Fastigheter and DNB Eindominvest in Norway.
Assets in Sweden and Norway made up the portfolio, valued at NOR11bn (€1.24bn) and largely centred around Stockholm.
Peter Wiman, head of research at Savills Sweden, said competition for assets had led to “aggressive pricing”, with yields dropping to historic lows in some sub-sectors.
Prime yields for central Stockholm offices, Wiman said, are currently at 4.25% – last recorded in the 1980s and in the years prior to the 2008 downturn.
Zsolt Kohalmi, head of European acquisitions at Starwood Capital Group, said Sweden’s economy had been resilient since the recession.
“Top population growth metrics, coupled with low vacancy rates, provide a strong underpinning for the local real estate market,” Kohalmi said.
