The impact of building regulations on the price of a property : A study on the construction and real estate industry's views on building regulations

Sammanfattning: Sweden is currently experiencing major population growth, focused predominantly in and around its major cities. This has created an ongoing challenge for municipalities to ensure housing supply meets demand, in turn increasing the required rate of construction. Furthermore, new property prices are increasing which has led to lower and middle-income earners being pushed out of the market. The thesis examines the relationship between the sale price and unit construction price of new condominiums, and to what degree Swedish building regulations influence construction costs. The design of both new and re-developed housing is influenced by various Swedish laws, regulations and guidelines, where the Planning and Building Act and the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning's Building Rules govern, which are all recognized nationally. According to the Planning and Building Act, it is not permitted for municipalities to set their own requirements. However, the results of the study show that developers experience different interpretations of these rules and regulations when working within different municipalities, or even between different case officers within the same municipality. This then results in projects being difficult to plan, resulting in higher costs. Sweden has, when compared to other European countries, high production costs, which according to the literature review is considered to have a direct connection to construction requirements and market competition. Additionally, the results show that the requirements make it difficult to produce and implement standard designs and construction methods. This has led to the construction industry finding it difficult to develop in regards to construction technology and from a cost perspective. Lack of predictability has driven costs up when it comes to accessibility, housing design and fire protection. Finally, the study shows that lower production costs can lead to greater competition by making it easier for more developers to establish themselves in the market. This would result in more homes being built at lower production costs, which motivates developers to invest in new projects. As the results indicate that production costs do not affect final prices – but rather the willingness of developers to invest – a greater supply of housing would push down final prices.