In a historical view, house prices have developed at the same rate as inflation. In the end of the 20th century the prices on the housing market started to differ from the inflation rate, and today the deviation is strong and the real price increase has been very strong. The financial crisis in 2008, which was a result of a subprime mortgage crisis on the American real estate market, has made several agents on the housing market in Sweden question today’s prices. Robert Schiller, an American economist who predicted the mortgage crisis in 2008, claimed during the Nobel Prize ceremony 2013, that Sweden shows signs of a financial bubble – "I think that people here in Sweden have an illusion that increasing prices is a lasting trend, but that is more suggestive of a bubble". Sweden has been in a recession for the last years, which has led to low interest rates and beneficial conditions on the real estate market. Despite the high unemployment and the recession, prices on the housing market in Stockholm County have continued to increase. This bachelor thesis aims to analyze the housing market in Stockholm County and investigate if there is a price bubble or not, or if the high prices can be explained by fundamental factors. The Thesis suggests that there is no price bubble on the housing market in Stockholm County. The increasing prices are based on fundamental factors, such as low interest rate, low supply on the housing market in combination with an increasing demand. Therefore it is unlikely that there is no existing pricing bubble on the housing market in Stockholm County.

Amorteringskravet infördes den första juni 2016 som en åtgärd för att dämpa den oavbrutet ökande skuldsättningen i Sveriges hushåll. Hushållens höga skuldsättning har varit mycket omtalad de senaste åren och lett till diskussioner om huruvida den innebär risk för den makroekonomiska och finansiella stabiliteten. Banker, myndigheter och högskolor verksamma inom bostadsmarknaden har varit både positiva och skeptiska till amorteringskravet som åtgärd för att minska hushållens skuldsättning och menar att konsekvenserna på bostadsmarknaden kan vara både positiva och negativa. Med denna bakgrund är syftet med uppsatsen att studera om och hur amorteringskravet hittills har påverkat bostadspriserna och skuldsättningen för bolån, samt om regleringen har varit den ultimata åtgärden för att uppnå en sundare ekonomi. För att uppnå uppsatsens syfte, har en kvalitativ metod, som innefattat intervjuer och litteraturstudie, samt en kvantitativ studie, som baserats på statistik, valts. Genom intervjuer med aktörer verksamma inom bostadsmarknaden samt statistiska tester, har en slutsats dragits om att amorteringskravet har haft effekt på bostadsmarknaden. Bostadspriserna har fortsatt att öka men i en lägre takt i jämförelse med tidigare år, även skuldsättningens ökningstakt har sjunkit. Amorteringskravet anses endast vara en pedagogisk åtgärd för att införa amorteringsbeteendet hos hushållen snarare än en skuldnedsättande åtgärd. / The first of June 2016, an amortization requirement was introduced as a measure to halt the constantly growing household debt in Sweden. The high household debt has been widely discussed over the past few years which has led to the further discussion regarding whether the growing debt means a risk for the macroeconomic and financial stability. Banks and other actors active in the housing market have been both positive and skeptical of the amortization requirement as a measure to reduce the household dept. The actors argue that the consequences can be both positive and negative. The purpose of this essay is to study if and how the amortization requirement so far has affected the house prices and the debt for mortgage loans, and if it has been the ultimate measure to achieve a more stable economy. To achieve the purpose of the essay two research methods were used: qualitative method, interviews and literature studies, and quantitative method, based on statistics. Results suggest that the amortization requirement has had an impact on the housing market. Housing prices have continued to increase but at a slower pace in comparison with previous years, whilst the debt rate has fallen. The amortization requirement is considered more as an educational measure than a measure that reduces household depts. The conclusion drawn from the results is that the amortization requirement has fulfilled its purpose but whether this measure is the most optimal is hard to say.