A picturesque town in rural Sweden is selling plots of land for the price of a cup of coffee. It's part of a plan to boost population numbers in the area and counter a nationwide housing slump.
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00:00Nestled next to the EU's largest lake and a UNESCO-recognised mountain, Jotune is Sweden's
00:08hidden gem.
00:09And right now, you can buy a block of land here starting from just 15 cents per square
00:14metre.
00:15On average, a block of land in Australia costs 7,000 times that amount.
00:20The scheme is open to anyone in the world on the condition they start building within
00:24two years and can open a Swedish bank account.
00:27This is one of the plots included in our campaign which we have in Jotune municipality
00:32where we are selling so-called leftover plots.
00:35Why are you selling them so cheap?
00:37Yeah, this was a bit of a stunt to get the local housing market back on track.
00:42We as a municipality, we need to grow.
00:45We are seeing an ageing population and a birth rate decline.
00:49Jotune's largest employer, Dalfgård, produces ready-made meals which it sells worldwide
00:55and desperately needs more workers to sustain production.
00:59We're depending on getting skilled workers to come here to be able to keep our growth
01:02going.
01:03It's everything from, you know, producing the foods themselves to HR, sales, marketing.
01:10Jotune isn't alone.
01:12Population growth across Sweden is declining and experts say many rural towns are struggling
01:18to attract and retain residents.
01:20The share of the working population is very small.
01:26So the tax resources they have to provide for welfare and social services are very low
01:36and for the family that wants to move there, it's often very problematic.
01:41With this as your backyard, it's no surprise really that thousands of potential buyers
01:45have already expressed interest in the cheap plots.
01:48And if this first round of sales is a success, the town is considering putting more lots
01:53up for sale.
01:54So for anyone considering a move to Sweden, now might just be the time.