Norway’s housing market is not only about prices. SSB reports 2,762,504 dwellings in 2026, but the newest ownership/renting figures are from 2024: 76.4 percent of households owned their home and 23.6 percent rented.

Why Housing Matters

Housing is a home, a major monthly cost and often the largest asset a family owns. That is why housing appears in social studies, personal finance and debates about inequality. When prices rise, many owners gain wealth on paper, while young people, single people and newcomers may find it harder to buy.

Most people in Norway live in owner-occupied homes, but renting is normal. Students, young adults, labour migrants, refugees and people who have recently moved often rent. Some want flexibility; others lack enough equity or stable income for a mortgage. See our guides to rental contracts, deposits and personal finance.

Housing Stock in 2026

SSB’s “Boliger” statistics count dwellings in residential buildings and other building types. The latest published year is 2026. Norway had 2,762,504 dwellings: 1,306,558 detached houses, 244,516 two-dwelling houses, 332,898 row houses and other small houses, 725,715 dwellings in apartment blocks, 76,517 in buildings for shared housing and 76,300 in other building types.

This is the housing stock, including occupied and unoccupied dwellings. It is not the same as counting people. A small flat, a large house and an empty registered dwelling each count as one dwelling.

Ownership and Renting

The newest register-based SSB table on living conditions has 2024 as the latest year. It counted 2,584,527 households. Of these, 62.8 percent were direct owners, 13.7 percent were cooperative/share owners and 23.6 percent rented. Together, 76.4 percent of households owned their home.

SSB’s fact page also says that 81.5 percent of people lived in a home owned by their household in 2024. That share is higher because larger households more often own. For exams, always ask whether a number refers to people or households.

A better answer than “everyone owns” is: most households own, but almost one in four rented in 2024. The rental market is therefore a large part of Norwegian housing. For buying, read home buying in Norway and housing cooperative or freehold.

Houses, Apartments and Place

Detached houses were the largest group in the 2026 housing stock. Still, many households live in apartment blocks, especially in cities. SSB’s 2024 household table showed 1,219,181 households in detached houses and 689,284 in apartment blocks. Geography matters: smaller municipalities often have more detached houses, while Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and other urban areas have more flats.

Housing Costs

SSB’s Consumer Expenditure Survey table currently has 2022 as the latest year. Average total household consumption expenditure was NOK 554,585. “Housing, electricity and fuels” was NOK 195,667, or 35.3 percent. Paid rent averaged NOK 27,537, imputed rent NOK 109,976 and electricity and fuels NOK 36,042. Imputed rent is a statistical value for living in an owned home, not rent paid to oneself.

These are 2022 figures, not 2026 prices. They still show why housing and energy are among the largest household budget items. Some people may qualify for Husbanken support, such as housing allowance or start loans; see housing allowance 2026 and municipal start loans.

Loans and Rules

From 31 December 2024, the lending regulation changed so the maximum loan-to-value ratio for mortgages increased from 85 to 90 percent. The government describes this as reducing the equity requirement from 15 to 10 percent. The main rule that total debt should not exceed five times annual income remains central. Banks must still assess income, debt, payment ability and risk. Good exam answers separate statistics, lending rules and social consequences.