You’ve probably heard of houses being sold in southern Europe for the price of a cup of coffee. The town of Götene in Sweden, about 200 miles southwest of the capital Stockholm, is selling 29 plots of land with prices starting from just 1 crown (approximately R$ 0.52), per square meter.
But it’s not just any land. It’s land where buyers can build their dream home — either as a living space or as a vacation home, under current rules. If the heatwave is making southern Europe less attractive by the day, this could be the solution .
Götene, one rural region with 5 thousand inhabitants in the main city and 13 thousand in the neighboring municipal area represents the best of rural Sweden. The city is located on the shores of Lake Vänern, not only the largest in Sweden, but also the largest in Scandinavia and the entire European Union, about 10 times the size of Lake Constance in Central Europe. Only Russia has larger lakes on the European continent.
For people who go hiking, Götene also has a small mountain nearby — Kinnekulle. There are also two UNESCO-listed sites there: the Platåbergens Geopark and the Lake Vänern Archipelago; and the Mount Kinnekulle Biosphere Reserve.
So why would such an idyllic town need to sell off its land?
“It became a sensation”
The mayor Johan Månsson says it’s a combination of the current economic downturn and the decline in the rural population. “The housing market is currently very slow in our region and in Sweden in general, due to high interest rates and a slight recession, so we wanted to inject something into the market,” he told CNN .
“We also face low birth rates and an aging population, so we need to do something, bring more people here,” he adds.
Månsson said they decided to sell 30 plots of land for a nominal fee, choosing sites that had been “for sale for many years”.
“We thought, why not? It’s an extraordinary situation that requires extraordinary measures. So we did it, and now it’s become a sensation, I don’t know what to say.”
“The scheme was launched last month with about 30 interested buyers,” Månsson said. Four of them bought plots for a price of one crown (about $0.52) per square meter. The plot sizes ranged from 700 to 1,200 square meters.
Since then, he says, things have intensified. “It went viral and we’ve had thousands of requests come in to our call center,” he said.
“We have two people at our city hall switchboard who have been working very hard the last few days. Basically, we are in crisis mode.”
Due to the unprecedented request — Månsson says there have been calls from all over the world — authorities have paused the bidding process until early August to decide how to proceed . When they return, there will likely be a bidding process for the land, rather than selling it for just 1 kroner (approximately 52 cents) per square meter. (the lower price only applies if no one else wants the land) .
Månsson says building a house usually costs around 3 to 4 million kronor, or about $2 million. Land typically costs around 500,000 kronor, or about $262,000.
Until now, anyone could buy land — you do not need to be a resident of Sweden or commit to living there permanently .
Still, he said the city may need to revisit the rules. And of course, building a house doesn’t give you the right to live in it full time. Visa rules are determined by the government.
The only requirement of the city is that construction of the house begins within two years after purchasing the land .
Cheap homes on the horizon
The Götene sell-off doesn’t end with these 30 plots. Månsson said it’s “not impossible” that they will set up some kind of cheap housing scheme similar to the “one-euro houses” that rural communities in Italy are famous for.
“We have a lot more land, and we will have to evaluate if we can do something to take advantage of more than just these 30 lands. We need to have something to offer to interested parties,” he said.
In fact, this may even be a turning point for the remote community . “This was basically a kind of publicity stunt – we thought we would be lucky to sell one or two,” he added.
“With the interest we are seeing now, it would be fantastic if we sold all 30. […] We have had a very stable population of 13,000 for several decades. If this works out…”
“If you are looking for a quiet life in the countryside, we can provide you with a high quality of life. It is the perfect combination”, he concluded.
Only one question remains: How to pronounce Götene?
It’s Yeur-te-neh, says Månsson. Prospective residents might want to include Swedish lessons in their budget list.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
