Real estate markets in the Nordics are showing investment resilience with rising cross-border appeal
According to Savills latest research, the Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have become an integral part of the European real estate investment market over the last ten years, averaging 15% of total activity, or €44bn per annum.
Strong economic growth prospects are supporting investment activity in the region, with INREV’s latest investor survey indicating that investors remain positive towards deploying into the region.
Overall, Nordics investment volumes during Q1-Q3 2026 rose by 26% against the same period in 2025. In Sweden, Q1-Q3 2026 investment volumes rose by 43% year on year (YoY), supported by a return of larger lot size transactions and portfolio deals from institutional investors amid a favourable debt market. Logistics and multifamily remain high on investor wish lists, while the maturity of the public sector, including education, healthcare, judicial buildings and police stations, has also captured investor interest. Similarly, in Finland, a strengthening investment market reached €4.3bn during Q1-Q3 2026, almost double that of the same period in 2025. There is limited evidence of any distress in the country, given a competitive lending environment. Denmark rose by 4% YoY, following strong multifamily transactions, while Norway fell by 5% YoY, as outbound activity within the region grows.
Looking ahead, Norway (1.6% pa), Sweden (2.1% pa), Finland (1.6% pa) and Denmark (2.9% pa) are expected to outperform average Eurozone (1.1% pa) GDP growth rates over the 2026-27 period. Nordics headquartered companies have raised over €50bn of venture capital investment over the last five years, helping the region to lead in sectors including pharmaceutical, software, healthcare and engineering. This, combined with the Nordics’ leading role in AI adoption in Europe, is expected to create office-based employment growth across the region’s major cities, averaging 1.3% pa over the next five years. This is over double the Eurozone average of 0.5% pa, according to Oxford Economics, and is expected to result in a total of 108,000 net additional jobs, creating demand for over one million sq m of office space.
Ecommerce growth is also driving demand in the region, with the Nordics’ average ecommerce penetration rate expected to rise from 15% in 2025, to 16% in 2030, behind only the UK. High digital adoption and resilient consumer dynamics are expected to drive above-average online retail sales growth over the next five years, supporting new demand for logistics space across the region.
The Nordics data centre market has evolved from a niche location for cost-conscious cloud deployments into one of Europe’s most strategically important digital infrastructure regions. While London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin continue to dominate in terms of live power capacity and customer concentration, the Nordics are increasingly attracting AI infrastructure providers and hyperscalers, seeking abundant renewable energy, competitive electricity prices, political stability and the ability to develop large-scale campuses.
Mike Barnes, director, European Research at Savills, says: “The Nordics’ resilient export markets, strong fiscal packages, favourable demographics and resilient energy security position the region to outperform Europe from an economic growth standpoint. We anticipate Nordics investment volumes to increase by 20% year on year in 2026, above the European average of +7%, marking the strongest year of investment activity since 2022.”
Patrik Kallenvret, head of Nordic Capital Markets at Savills, adds: “Depending on investors’ strategy and risk profile, there are a number of opportunities across the Nordics, such as prime multifamily in Stockholm and Oslo; CBD offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki, and multi-let logistics in Southern Denmark for core investors. Value-add strategies could look at shopping centres in Finland, or converting vacant office space to alternative uses in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.”