A new report published by the Iceland National Register states that 3,839 residences are currently under construction in Iceland and that building licenses for 1,953 more were issued in April. These figures were published by the National Register of Iceland in a recent report. for sale apartments
The vast majority of the residences under construction or in the process of being built are in Reykjavík. The second most new residences, or 574, will be located in Njarðvík on the Reykjanes peninsula in Southeastern Iceland. Kópavogur (492), Garsabær (388) and Mosfellsbær (343) complete the top five cities. The number of places with five or fewer new residences under construction is perhaps interesting. Forty-five municipalities, including Flatey and Hrísey Islands, are creating a new single residential unit; 21 will have two new residences including Grímsey Island; seven will have three new residences.
As of April, 1,660 private residences were under or in progress, and 4,132 family buildings were under construction across the country. Currently, the total number of residences occupied is 138,998. This marks an increase of 859 residences since December 2018, when 138,139 residences were occupied across the country.
The National Register records on the number of residences in the country but, as can be seen in the new report, more granular data has been kept. Now we can see how many total building permits (in gray on the report) were issued compared with how many are actually under construction (green). The register also looks at the types of properties, i.e. multi-family homes, as well as the square footage of single units. The report cannot, however, be considered complete because it reports only on properties listed by the building officer of each municipality in the property register. More than 60% of registered Airbnb owners rent properties in central Reykjavík or adjacent neighborhoods in the capital area. The Airbnb buildings are concentrated in the six downtown streets of Laugavegur, Hverfisgata, Grettisgata, Berðinsgata, and Bjarnarstígur, Kjarninn reports. Up to 70% of properties are registered as Airbnbs on several of these streets.
These findings were published in a study on Friday examining Airbnb's impact on the housing market in the area of the capital. A study conducted in partnership with the Icelandic Tourism Commission (ITC), the City of Reykjavik and the Housing Facility by Anne-Cécile Mermet, lecturer at the Sorbonne University in France, showed that 80 percent of Airbnb's registered owners in the capital area are located in Reykjavík. 37% of these rent properties in the 101 postcode (City Center Rejkjavík), 17% in 105 Raykavík and 7% in 107 Raykavík.
In April 2019, 2 567 property owners in Reykjavík had been registered on Airbnb, 58% of whom had no legal license. The number of registered capital property owners on Airbnb has grown dramatically in recent years. There were 2,032 owners registered on the website in January 2016. The number had nearly doubled to 4,154 by January 2018.
The study showed that owners of Airbnb properties are not a homogenous group of people with homogeneous objectives and/or business practices. The effects of these people renting their properties therefore vary. While in some cases, Airbnb has shifted ownership to investors and businesses, in others it has helped individuals to remain at home or meet ends.
One of the main findings of the study was that Airbnb and short-term income contributed to promoting social inequality in the capital sector. In other words, the website helps people who have assets secure their foothold on the housing market. Of course, a reduction in the supply of rental properties on the market and higher prices are also consequences.