Solna and Täby Buck Trend: Where Buying Now Beats Renting in Stockholm’s Suburbs

For the first time in more than a decade, buyers in parts of Solna and Täby are now paying less on average in monthly mortgage costs than their neighbours who rent similar-sized apartments. The reversal, confirmed in new data from Svensk Mäklarstatistik and Hemnet published this week, comes as Stockholm’s rental market tightens and mortgage rates moderate from last year’s peaks.

This shift matters because affordability—in a city where the rental queue for a first-hand contract still stretches years—is emerging as one of the most contentious issues in local politics. The last quarter has seen a marked acceleration in market division: rents keep rising, while sale prices for condominiums (bostadsrätter) in select suburbs have stalled or dipped. Combined with tweaks to interest rates from Riksbanken, this has tipped the balance in favour of buyers in certain districts for the first time since 2012.

Why Solna and Täby Stand Out

Data collected from Lägenhetsregistret shows that in central Solna—particularly around Råsundavägen and near Mall of Scandinavia—a two-bedroom apartment now sells for a median SEK 3.5 million. Factoring in the current average variable mortgage rate of 3.1% and 15% down payment, monthly interest and amortisation come to approximately SEK 13,000. Yet comparable rental listings—especially on platforms like Qasa or Blocket Bostad—regularly demand SEK 15,000 or more per month, and often higher for contracts without first-hand status. Täby, specifically the areas close to Täby centrum and Gribbylund, shows a similar dynamic: the cost to buy has softened, while rents for family-sized flats have surged by up to 8% year-on-year, hitting SEK 16,300 on average for a three-room unit according to Booli’s latest rental snapshot.

Stockholm’s inner city neighbourhoods—think Vasastan or Östermalm—still see buyers paying a hefty premium over renters in most cases, both due to higher sale prices and steeper association (förening) fees. But as Klas Eklund of the local housing research institute Boverket recently wrote, pressure is shifting renters with mid-level incomes further from the city core, where renting now risks outpacing the cost to own.

Crunching the Numbers

According to Branschorganisationen Fastighetsbyrån’s analysis for the first half of 2026, monthly costs for an owner-occupier in Solna (70 sqm, new build, typical down payment) average SEK 13,200, while the rental cost for the same space exceeds SEK 15,400 as of June. In Täby, mortgage holders pay around SEK 14,000 monthly, compared to SEK 16,000 for new (and rare) rental contracts. Across the greater Stockholm area, rents climbed 6.8% in the past 12 months, while average sales prices barely budged, up only 1.1% since last autumn according to Hemnet’s market review published on 2 July.

The data hinge on both rising demand for rental properties—fueled by immigration and lagging new-build deliveries—and the modest but persistent slide in selling prices as more owners look to downsize amid economic uncertainty. The impact is clearest in Södra Hagalund and Nyby in Solna, and near Täby kyrkby, where analysts at Nordea project that the rent-versus-buy gap may actually widen further if current trends hold through the autumn.

For would-be first-time buyers with the standard 15% deposit, the new equation means mortgage payments are not just competitive—they're sometimes considerably cheaper than renting, before even accounting for tax deductions on mortgage interest.

What Prospective Buyers Should Know

Market watchers warn that while the balance has shifted, supply and lending rules remain strict. Entry costs are still high, and the Swedish amortisation requirement continues to limit borrowing for many young families. But with public debate heating up ahead of the city council’s annual housing report in August, the likelihood grows that targeted pilot projects—such as Familjebostäder’s rent-to-own scheme in Sundbyberg—could introduce more flexibility for first-time buyers.

In the shorter term, analysts expect buying to remain a better deal than renting in select parts of Solna, Täby, and some pockets of Sundbyberg through at least the end of 2026, so long as the Riksbank holds steady on lending rates. For those considering a move before the autumn rush, careful comparison shopping—between new rental contracts and current sale listings along lines like Råsundavägen or Täby Allé—could see homeowners actually shaving thousands off their monthly housing spend. With Stockholm’s property map being redrawn, the old debate about renting versus buying is entering a new chapter in the city's ever-volatile suburbs.