COPENHAGEN: According to statistics agency of Denmark, in recent months apartments prices in Denmark jumped 8.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year earlier. In some areas of Copenhagen, property prices are up 30% in a year. The residential property market is booming, driven partly by record low interest rates for mortgage borrowers.
At Denmark’s banks, the volume of new loans has shot up. The average number of loan offers in January and February was around 55,000 compared to a monthly average of around 22,000 in 2014, according to the Association of Danish Mortgage Banks.
As central banks across Europe cut interest rates in a battle to keep their currencies competitive against a weak euro, the effects are filtering down to the real economy. Take Denmark, for example, whose central bank cut rates with alarming regularity in a bid to halt its currency marching higher. Apartments in Copenhagen that used to be on the market for months now sell in days or even hours, realtors say, while prospective buyers line up early at open houses and squeeze inside along their rivals.
