(Bloomberg) -- Norway’s adjusted home prices rebounded last month, confirming that the housing market in the Nordic nation remains robust even as expectations of interest-rate cuts have been delayed.
Prices grew a seasonally-adjusted 0.5% in August, the seventh increase in the last eight months, after dipping in July, according to data published by Real Estate Norway on Wednesday. Norges Bank expected a 0.4% increase.
The housing market in the energy-rich country has been setting new post-pandemic records and outperforming those of its Scandinavian neighbors as its labor market and wage growth is little dented by the aggressively hawkish stance of the Norwegian policymakers, while supply of new homes remains tight.
Nordea Bank Abp, the largest regional lender, earlier on Wednesday said it only sees the Norwegian central bank cutting its key rate three times this cycle to 3.75% — clearly less than consensus estimates — citing home prices as one of the factors suggesting the country’s economy doesn’t need more reduction in borrowing costs.
While a weak krone has fueled rate-setters concerns about the inflation outlook and delayed their projections for key rate cuts, most analysts see Norges Bank starting its post-pandemic easing before the end of the year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg last month.
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