How to sell property in Sweden

To sell a house or an apartment in Sweden, you will need to follow a few steps. Here is some useful information to educate yourself if you are in the process of selling property in Sweden.

The process of selling property in Sweden

As a foreigner you can buy, own and of course sell property in Sweden.

It is possible to sell property on your own. But common practice is to involve a real estate agent. In almost all real estate transactions on the Swedish real estate market it is the seller who hire and pay the fees for real estate agents.

Decide if you are going to use an Real estate agent or not. To sell without an agent you really need to be fluent in the Swedish language and also be familiar with all the rules and regulations surrounding the process of selling real estate. If you decide to sell without an agent you can market your house or apartment through Blocket bostad or you can alse use the very popular for-sale listing website Booli throug the on-line real estate agent service Privatmäklaren. If you are prepared to do some of the selling work yourself you can hire an on-line agent or hybrid agent.

If you decide to go for a traditional agent. Look for a reputable agent who is familiar with the local market and can help you set the right price for your property.

In Sweden its legal demand on the real estate agents that they act impartial between seller and buyer. In case you feel that an agent acts in an improper way you can turn to Fastighetsmäklarinspektionen (The Swedish Estate Agents Inspectorate ).

An offer to buy is usually made through the agent, who will communicate between both parties.

In brief, the process to sell your property is as follows

Prepare yourself through finding information and maybe hire an estate agent to help you in the process
Prepare your home for sale: Make any necessary repairs and upgrades, and clean and stage your home to make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers.

Declutter and remove personal items: Remove any unnecessary items from your home and put away personal items such as family photos and collectibles. This will help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space.
Clean and repair: Clean the home thoroughly and make any necessary repairs. This will make the home more appealing to potential buyers and increase its value.
Neutralize the décor: Neutralize the décor by repainting walls and replacing any bold or outdated fixtures. This will make the home more appealing to a wider range of buyers.
Stage the home: Stage the home by arranging furniture and accessories in a way that highlights the home's best features. This will help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space.
Take high-quality photos: Hire a professional photographer to take high-quality photos of the home. These photos will be used to market the home online and in print.
Maybe hire an independent building surveyor to survey the property and write a report that potential buyers can use for better understanding of the property.

Advertise your property: Your real estate agent will likely list your property on various online platforms and maybe in local newspapers to reach a wide audience of potential buyers.
Show your property: Allow prospective buyers to view your property and answer any questions they may have.
Negotiate the sale: Once an interested buyer has been found, work with your real estate agent to negotiate the terms of the sale.
Close the sale: You meet with the estate agent and the buyer to sign the contracts. Once you have a signed purchase agreement, work with your real estate agent to finalize the sale and handling any necessary paperwork.
On the access day (or a day before) you should let the buyer do a final inspection of the property. On the access day you meet at your Swedish bank or the real estate agents office and hand over the keys to the house. The buyers bank takes care of solving the sellers mortages that has the property as a security and tranfers the rest of the money to the your account. You also sign a contract of sale (Köpebrev) that proves that the buyer is the new owner of the property. The bank will use this contract to send in an application for land registration in your name. Within a couple of weeks you get back the contract of sale and a verification that you are now the registered owner of the property.

Responsibility for faults in property

When you sell a house in Sweden you can be held financially responsible for hidden fault up to 10 years after you have bought the house. However the interpretation of the term hidden faults are very narrow. Most problems that are exposed after buying a house are the responsibility of the buyer.

Common practice when you buy a house in Sweden is therefore to hire an independent building surveyor. Since the Swedish legal system puts a large part of the responsibility of potential problems with the house on the buyer. In practice the buyer can´t make the seller responsible for faults that could have been found trough an thorough investigation of the house.

Selling costs

Capital gain tax:	22% of the capital gain is paid in taxes. However you can deduct costs of selling and improvements on the property you have done during the time you have been the owner. Read more at the Swedish tax office
Agent’s fees:	usually between 1,5% and 3% of the selling price. However there are on-line agents and hybrid agents with substantially lower fixed fees.