Svensk Mäklarstatistik must continue to deliver data on the housing market

This has been decided by the Swedish Competition Authority pending the completion of an ongoing investigation.

“Svensk Mäklarstatistik’s refusal to supply data requires a rapid intervention in the form of an interim decision in order to prevent the irreparable damage to competition that their actions risk causing,” says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

Svensk Mäklarstatistik AB is a company that is ultimately owned by Sveriges Fastighetsmäklarsamfund, the industry and member organisation for real estate agents. The company collects, compiles and publishes information about the housing market. The data collected consists of data on more than 95% of the residential transactions that take place through real estate agents.

Since 2009, Svensk Mäklarstatistik has had an agreement with the company Valueguard Index Sweden AB on the delivery of data collected on the housing market. Based on this data, Valueguard has, among other things, developed and established the Nasdaq OMX Valueguard-KTH Housing Index (HOX Index). The HOX Index is a price index for tenant-owned homes and detached houses in Sweden that is published once a month on Valueguard’s website. Valueguard’s house price index is used by a number of customers, including several government agencies.

In spring 2020, Svensk Mäklarstatistik served notice to terminate the current agreement with Valueguard. In connection with this, the company announced its decision to no longer supply data with publishing rights to Valueguard in accordance with previous agreements.

The Swedish Competition Authority, which has been investigating the matter since the beginning of June 2021, considers it likely that Svensk Mäklarstatistik’s refusal to deliver data constitutes abuse of a dominant position. In order to protect competition in the markets that depend on data and the right to publish statistics, Svensk Mäklarstatistik must therefore continue to deliver data on residential transactions while the Swedish Competition Authority’s investigation is ongoing.

“It’s unusual for the Swedish Competition Authority to have to make an interim decision during an ongoing investigation, but in this case it is of the utmost importance that the current transparency in the housing market be maintained. Not least with regard to consumers,” says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

If Svensk Mäklarstatistik violates the Swedish Competition Authority’s decision, the company faces with a fine of SEK 2 million.

A public version of the decision will be available shortly on the Swedish Competition Authority’s website

For further information, please contact:

Marie Strömberg Lindvall, Communications Officer, +46 (0)76 542 15 92, marie.stromberglindvall@kkv.se
Martin Mandorff, Head of Unit, +46 (0)8-700 15 53, martin.mandorff@kkv.se
Johan Sahl, Acting Head of Unit, +46 (0)8-700 16 22, johan.sahl@kkv.se

Read the decision, dnr 348/2021 (in Swedish)