An article from the Norwegian newspaper «Fædrelandsvennen».

The article has a tempting title: «Lokker med 300000 kroner om bygger hus i denne kommunen» (we attract people with 300 thousand kroner to build houses in this municipality).

In the municipality of Iveland there live only 1,300 inhabitants. There is a school and a kindergarten. It is set in a picturesque place, but not on the coast. The mayor of the municipality, a young attractive woman, Gro-Anita Mykjåland, tells: in the 1970s the municipality numbered only 700 people, and in 2020 more than 1,300 inhabitants.

In order to attract new residents, the municipality can issue a subsidy for building housing of 30 thousand euros (300 thousand Norwegian kroner). Any resident of Norway can apply for the subsidy, but the person who wants to receive it must meet certain requirements in building their home: if you build a private house, your house must have at least 3 bedrooms, and if an apartment, then two bedrooms. I take it that they are attracting people with children to the municipality.

The mayor hopes that there are people for whom these conditions will suit, because a large part of people use their own transport to travel to work at a distance. For example, about 30 kilometres away, in the settlement of Vatnestrøm, there are three large factories — Voss, Moelven, Dørfabrikken — and workers at those factories can start building their housing in the municipality of Iveland. Although the municipality’s yearly budget is small — only 2 million kroner, 200 thousand euros. But the mayor stressed that if there are many who want to build their home, the budget in the municipality can be increased.

Unfortunately the article did not name the cost of a building plot. Prices for housing and plots are different everywhere. And it is hard to name even an approximate price.

And now I want to write my own thoughts about this article. The idea seems tempting for people who dream of building their own home. But what is 300 thousand kroner in Norway? What kind of big money is that? I give an equivalent: it is the average-minimum yearly wage of a worker or employee, if the person works full time and permanently. I stress the word permanently. In Norwegian it is called fastjobb.

In Norway there is a problem getting a permanent job at 100% employment. So if someone who wants to build housing does not have income from 100% employment, they will not get the subsidy, nor a bank loan for construction. So my conclusion for those who want to build in Norway is: first a job, then (almost at once!) a car as a means of getting around, and only then think about housing.