“Increased single-family housing construction would directly benefit the timber housing industry”

Single-family housing construction is at a historic low, despite the fact that 7 out of 10 Swedes want to live in a detached home. In the report “A New Homeownership Movement”, the Swedish Wood and Furniture Industry Federation (TMF) presents 14 reforms aimed at making it easier to plan, finance and build private homes.

As a project manager and housing policy expert at TMF, Gustaf Edgren has spent more than a decade working to strengthen the conditions for Sweden’s timber housing industry. According to him, the problem is not that the industry lacks products that people want, but that the market is not allowed to function properly. The healthy competition that timber house and homebuilding companies could bring to the Swedish housing market is shut out when municipalities fail to zone enough plots for detached homes or garden cities.

“The issue is not that we cannot build homes, but that land for housing is not being made available. Increasing access to plots would create healthier competition in the new housing market,” he says.

A new homeownership movement: Rethinking how we build cities

According to the TMF report, urban planning ideals have long favored dense, high-rise development, while demand for single-family homes remains strong. Gustaf Edgren believes it may be time to rethink this approach, especially as electrification and digitalization change how people move and work, while society must also preserve biodiversity and build more resilient communities.

“We need to hold two thoughts at once. If we constantly assume that no new land should ever be used for development, we miss the fact that conditions are changing. People can work from home and do not need to commute in the same way. That creates an opportunity to plan for more single-family housing.”

Proposals affecting production and demand

From the report, Edgren highlights three areas that could have a direct impact on construction, volumes and investment.

Plan more plots for single-family homes
According to him, the most important reform is for municipalities to prepare more ready-to-build plots for detached homes so that demand can meet supply.

Leasehold 2.0 – lowering the threshold to home ownership
Leasehold arrangements can significantly reduce the capital required for households, especially since the cost of the land often equals the cost of the house.

“Help people own their homes rather than creating lifelong dependence on housing subsidies,” he says, describing leasehold as a tool that can make more projects viable even in uncertain times.

Simpler regulations and shorter processes
Planning procedures and building permits often take too long and become costly, with major variations between municipalities.

“A building permit should take ten weeks, but it is not uncommon for it to take twice as long,” says Edgren.

Business impact: “Directly benefits the timber housing industry”

Today, around 6,500 single-family homes are built each year. But even during the peak year of 2022, when about 13,000 homes were started, Edgren believes the levels were far below the industry’s potential.

“Increased single-family housing construction would directly benefit the timber housing industry. We would like to at least triple the number of detached homes being built. Construction also becomes faster the more that is prefabricated in factories. We see everything from pre-cut solutions to panel systems and modular houses where entire volumes are produced in factories and then assembled on site.”

He also believes that more privately built homes could help smooth economic cycles. A private homebuilder is usually driven by the need for housing rather than return on investment, which can make construction more stable when commercial projects slow down.

Garden cities: Attractive, walkable and technology-ready

The report highlights garden cities as a model that combines small-scale housing with proximity to services and public transport.

“If you look at the Swedish garden cities that emerged in the early 1900s, they are still some of our most popular residential areas. They combine villas, townhouses and low-rise apartment buildings with squares, services and green spaces, all within walking distance.”

He also believes the model fits well with today’s technological and sustainability developments.

“The modern garden city can be connected, with autonomous electrified transport — which also improves the economics of public transport — and smart energy management. It is not really a futuristic vision; much of the technology already exists today. It is difficult to see why technological development would not continue to expand these opportunities,” concludes Gustaf Edgren.

Housing construction in wood at Wood Products & Technology

The future of single-family housing concerns the entire wood industry value chain, from materials and production to how future communities are planned. At Wood Products & Technology, 25–27 August 2026 at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg, industry stakeholders will meet to discuss precisely these kinds of issues. For TMF, this includes how housing policy, technology and industrial construction methods can together create better conditions for building more wood-based homes.

About Wood Products & Technology

Wood Products & Technology is the Nordic region’s largest meeting place for the wood industry. Here, the entire value chain gathers — from sawmills and production to architecture and urban development — to share knowledge, discover new technology and do business. The focus is on innovation, sustainability and the future of wood construction. Register for your free entrance ticket»