In Sweden, a small community has started an unusual campaign to sell land that has been abandoned for years: the building land is being offered at an absolutely bargain price.
In Sweden, a dream for future homeowners is coming true: building land is currently available there for less than ten cents per square meter: Because of such a bargain offer, a small town in southwest Sweden has been literally overrun by interested parties.
“We started the campaign in mid-April,” said the mayor of the 5,000-inhabitant town of Götene, Johann Mansson, to the AFP news agency on Monday. 30 plots of land that had been abandoned for decades were offered for sale for one Swedish krona (around ten cents) per square meter. It was a “crazy idea” and a marketing campaign.
Region in Sweden is sparsely populated
With the tempting offer, the municipality wanted to create more living space in the sparsely populated area and thereby stimulate growth in the region, Mansson continued. The plots on offer are between seven and 1,200 square meters in size. By purchasing, the new owner commits to building a house on them within two years.
Shortly after the campaign began, three properties were sold – “a great success for such a small community,” said Mayor Mansson. “We could never have imagined what was in store for us.”
When a local television station reported on the unusual offer at the end of June, the story spread like wildfire: Swedish media reported, a video was shared on the Tiktok platform, two English-language media picked up the story and millions of people discovered Götene and its unbeatable land prices
From that point on, the city administration was inundated with emails and calls. Sales were temporarily suspended so that all offers could be examined. “We have interested parties from Europe, Asia – especially India and Pakistan – as well as from the USA, Australia and even South America,” said Mayor Mansson. The campaign has therefore succeeded in successfully “putting the small town on the world map.”
The sale of the properties is scheduled to continue with an auction at the beginning of August.
Read at stern+: The cost of home ownership has recently fallen, even in major cities. Here you can find out everything you need to know now.
Source: Stern
