Dreaming of efficient markets? Residential construction, competition & affordability in the Swedish housing sector

Abstract

This paper problematises the perception that enhanced competition within the Swedish residential construction sector offers a panacea to rising building costs and deteriorating housing affordability. The paper investigates the relationships between housing production, exchange, and consumption from three perspectives: (i) an historical analysis of the residential construction industry; (ii) elite semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and (iii) an exploration of state crisis management. Instead of viewing competition within the construction sector as an isolated sphere, we argue that the inherent unevenness within this sector needs to be grasped in combination with broader political-economic developments. We claim that rising productions costs (particularly in the tenant-owner sector) have been fuelled by soaring land prices, and that this situation has provided fertile terrain for rent-seeking throughout the housing supply chain. We conclude that calls for more competition, both in Sweden and further afield, tend to oversimplify the complex issue of housing provision and shroud more fundamental housing system imbalances.