Colliers Denmark Market Report 2024

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RESIDENTIAL - COLLIERS MARKET REPORT 2024

Urbanisation intensifies in downturns and slows down in upturns

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2006 – just before the financial crisis

2017 – financial crisis at a distance

2022

2011 – shortly after the financial crisis

Note: Relative population growth, 2006-2022, Denmark. Source: Statistics Denmark, Colliers

-1.7%

0%

2.7%

The fact that the population is still increasing in the larg est towns and cities despite net out-migration is due to the birth surplus (more births than deaths) and net immi gration, e.g. of foreigners, who make up an increasing part of the workforce. In the longer term, urbanisation is a strong trend, and we estimate that living in Denmark’s largest cities will remain attractive and that demand for housing will be high in the coming years. Population growth consists not only of net migration from other municipalities, but also of excess births and net immigration. The illustration

shows, among other things, that Copenhagen, Odense and Aalborg have all experienced negative net in-migra tion (and therefore net out-migration) in 2022. However, it also shows that the three cities have had positive population growth despite the negative net migration, because more people have been born than have died (positive birth surplus) and because more people have moved from abroad to the three urban areas than have moved from the three cities abroad (positive net migra tion). It is therefore important to look at net migration in a broader perspective, as it does not mean population decline or reduced demand for housing.