Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Norway to test emergency warning systems, rents rising much faster than inflation, and bus cancellations continue in Oslo. This, and other news from Norway on Wednesday.
Rents rising faster than inflation
The average price of renting a home in Norway rose by 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the latest figures from the rental platform Husleie.no show.
In Oslo, it costs an average of 16,011 kroner a month to rent a home compared to the national average of 12,387 kroner per calendar month.
"There are more and more of us, and housing construction has almost stopped during a time when inflation is high. As long as the framework conditions for owning housing for rent make it difficult to achieve profitability, rental prices will be high," managing director Kjetil J. Olsen said in a press release.
He said a combination of interest rates and taxes on second homes had increased overheads for landlords.
"This has meant that the proportion of secondary homes has dropped considerably, and especially in Oslo. When we have a much higher interest rate at the top, the result is record high prices," Olsen said.
Conservative Party won't remerge counties that split in the New Year
At the beginning of the year, the current government reversed an unpopular policy of merging several smaller counties.
Leader of the Conservative Party Erna Solberg has said that the counties won't be remerged if her party takes victory in the next election.
"We do not intend to reverse what the government has now done. That would only mean wasting more money on creating new processes that go back and forth," Solberg said.
Emergency alarms to be tested
The Norwegian Civil Defence will test its emergency systems at midday on Wednesday. Phone users will receive an alert and will sound a notification or vibrate.
The phone notification will be the second time the new mobile system will be tested. Those who do not want to receive a notification will need to have their phone switched off at noon.
Emergency sirens will also be sounded across the country. These are tested twice a year, once in January and once in June.
Bus troubles continue in Oslo
The public transport firm cancelled 190 of its departures on Wednesday morning. The cancellations are due to issues with electric buses ability to charge and hold batteries during the cold weather.
The issues were more severe during the recent cold snap.
Comments
See Also
Rents rising faster than inflation
The average price of renting a home in Norway rose by 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the latest figures from the rental platform Husleie.no show.
In Oslo, it costs an average of 16,011 kroner a month to rent a home compared to the national average of 12,387 kroner per calendar month.
"There are more and more of us, and housing construction has almost stopped during a time when inflation is high. As long as the framework conditions for owning housing for rent make it difficult to achieve profitability, rental prices will be high," managing director Kjetil J. Olsen said in a press release.
He said a combination of interest rates and taxes on second homes had increased overheads for landlords.
"This has meant that the proportion of secondary homes has dropped considerably, and especially in Oslo. When we have a much higher interest rate at the top, the result is record high prices," Olsen said.
Conservative Party won't remerge counties that split in the New Year
At the beginning of the year, the current government reversed an unpopular policy of merging several smaller counties.
Leader of the Conservative Party Erna Solberg has said that the counties won't be remerged if her party takes victory in the next election.
"We do not intend to reverse what the government has now done. That would only mean wasting more money on creating new processes that go back and forth," Solberg said.
Emergency alarms to be tested
The Norwegian Civil Defence will test its emergency systems at midday on Wednesday. Phone users will receive an alert and will sound a notification or vibrate.
The phone notification will be the second time the new mobile system will be tested. Those who do not want to receive a notification will need to have their phone switched off at noon.
Emergency sirens will also be sounded across the country. These are tested twice a year, once in January and once in June.
Bus troubles continue in Oslo
The public transport firm cancelled 190 of its departures on Wednesday morning. The cancellations are due to issues with electric buses ability to charge and hold batteries during the cold weather.
The issues were more severe during the recent cold snap.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.