House prices in Sweden set to plummet
Sweden's former finance minister has warned that house prices in Sweden are set to plummet due to housing shortages and the country's rising debt being exacerbated by the migrant crisis. Rent reforms and high-rise constructions have been marked as potential solutions that could help reduce the risks induced by swelling mortgages, however, it is seen as too late for a drastic liberalisation of the housing market to prevent a slowdown. The collapse is expected to undermine economic growth in Sweden as households cut back on consumption in an effort to reduce ballooning debt.

Sweden's ballooning debt and housing shortages have passed the point of no return, making a future collapse in housing prices inevitable, argues Anders Borg. According to him, the consequences of this collapse will undermine economic growth as indebted households are increasingly forced to cut back on consumption.

"A 'touchdown' in the Swedish housing prices is coming and I do not see how it can be avoided. We only need to be able to adjust the balance sheet afterwards," former finance minister Anders Borg, who now advises the investment company Kinnevik and the global bank Citi, said in a speech at a bank conference, as quoted by Dagens Industri.

"To prevent a drastic slowdown, we would need a liberalization of the Swedish housing market to happen at such a pace and at such vast proportions that it would be impossible to implement. Debts have already grown too big," he said, forecasting a collapse within five years.