Forced home sales rise to highest first-half level since 2021

Norway recorded 353 forced home sales in the first half of the year, the highest number for that period since 2021. Statistics Norway reported the figure as interest rates continue to weigh on heavily indebted households.

Vetle Severinsen, a debt economist at Bluestep Bank and Bank2, said the increase reflects the impact of high borrowing costs and strong price growth. Forced sales, he said, often mark the end of financial problems that have built up over time.

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Forced sales are in many ways the end of financial problems: the consequence of financial problems over time.

The policy rate stood at 4.5% through 2024 and the first half of 2025, its highest level since 2008. Norges Bank raised it to 4.25% in May and held it there afterward. In June, the central bank said it might need to raise rates again at one of its next meetings. Its rate path pointed to a level slightly above 4.5% by the end of the year.

The tone softened in August after inflation fell more than expected over the summer, although policymakers said it was too early to conclude that the inflation outlook had changed significantly. DNB Carnegie, Danske Bank and Nordea Markets now expect another rate increase before the year ends.

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They are very focused on the average and, in that sense, do not take the weakest into account. When things are going well for the average Norwegian, they do not see those who are struggling. Interest rates are a mill that grinds down those who are struggling.

Norwegian households still carry very high debt. Their loan debt stood at about 4.8 trillion kroner at the end of 2025, equivalent to 212% of disposable income, according to the Financial Supervisory Authority. Couples with children under six owed more than three times their after-tax income on average.

Severinsen said the central bank focuses heavily on averages and does not adequately account for the weakest households. “Interest rates are a mill that grinds down those who are struggling,” he said. The people appearing in forced-sale statistics, he added, are those who missed out on wage growth while facing higher prices.

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The people you see in the forced-sale statistics are those who are not average. They are the ones who have not shared in wage growth, but have faced only price increases.