SUMMER HOUSES (2)

Despite the fact that owning a summer house is very important for many Danes, the market has been in the doldrums for the past decade. The number of summer houses sold peaked in 2005 at just over 7,000, before collapsing to below 4,000 in 2008. Even though this year has been good so far, the total is still below 6,000.

With respect to prices, the figures are even worse. At the peak, summer houses were selling on average for around kr.18.000 per square meter. Since then there has been a steady decline down to around kr.13.000 per square meter.

As always, some parts of the country are doing better than others. Demand and prices around Copenhagen and Aarhus are strong, those in West Jutland and some of the islands are weak.

Walter Blotscher