In Sweden, Riksbyggen has built three tiny homes to illustrate how much 25-year-olds can afford to pay for housing. The models measure 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå and will not be sold, as they are part of a campaign for housing reforms in Sweden.
Generation Z has become the center of a housing campaign that transforms income, savings, property prices, and financing conditions into three real homes of extreme dimensions. Built in Sweden, the models represent the space that a 25-year-old with average income would be able to afford in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Umeå.
According to a report by Fast Company Brasil, authored by Nate Berg, the constructions are part of a campaign led by the Swedish developer Riksbyggen in collaboration with creative agency BBDO Nordics. The houses will not be offered as real estate; they were specifically built to materialize the housing access issue faced by young people.
Houses Were Calculated Based on the Income and Savings of 25-Year-Olds
Campaign in Sweden measures how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing, building houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to expose the housing problem.
Riksbyggen directed the project towards young people trying to buy their first property.
The dimensions were calculated based on the average income and savings of 25-year-olds, within a context where housing prices do not match what this demographic can finance.
Index Combines Income, Property Prices, and Financing
The sizes were not chosen arbitrarily.
The campaign uses the Riksbyggen square meter index, which combines income, property values, and financing conditions to estimate how much space would be accessible to a young person with average income in different Swedish cities.
Campaign in Sweden calculates how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing and builds houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to highlight the housing issue.
The Swedish capital presented the most restrictive scenario among the three examples built.
In Stockholm, the calculation indicates that a 25-year-old within the analyzed profile could afford only 1.9 square meters of housing.
Gothenburg expands space to 3.1 m²
The second model represents the estimated reality for Gothenburg.
In the city, the area considered affordable increases to 3.1 square meters, still far from the dimensions of a conventional residence.
Umeå reaches 4.5 m² but still does not allow for a conventional house
Campaign in Sweden calculates how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing and builds houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to highlight the housing issue.
The largest of the three models was calculated for Umeå.
In this case, the accessible space reaches 4.5 square meters, more than double the result from Stockholm, but still insufficient to replicate the common conditions of a full residence.
Campaign in Sweden calculates how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing and builds houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to highlight the housing issue.
Three models range between 1.9 and 4.5 square meters
The constructions were built to scale, allowing people to physically perceive what the numbers mean.
The three houses range in size from approximately 1.9 to 4.5 square meters, intentionally limiting the internal space.
Interior provides four walls, a ceiling, a toilet, and a place to sit
Campaign in Sweden estimates how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing and builds houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to highlight the housing issue.
The financial limitation calculated by the index was directly reproduced in the interiors.
According to the source, the models offer little more than four walls, a ceiling, a toilet, and a place to sit.
The space is so reduced that it doesn’t even allow a person to lie down completely on a bed.
Houses will not be sold or allocated to residents
Despite being built, the units are not part of a residential development.
Riksbyggen created the properties merely as communication tools for the campaign. The goal is to make visible that which could remain abstract if presented solely through tables, percentages, and square meter prices.
Campaign aims to allow the public to “enter” the housing crisis
Campaign in Sweden estimates how much 25-year-olds can afford for housing and builds houses of 1.9 m² in Stockholm, 3.1 m² in Gothenburg, and 4.5 m² in Umeå to highlight the housing issue.
The chosen strategy was to transform the financial issue into a physical experience.
The three houses will go on a tour across Sweden, allowing visitors to enter the structures and closely observe the dimensions associated with young people’s purchasing power.
Housing scarcity increases pressure on first-time buyers
The initiative takes place in a country facing housing shortages.
The campaign argues that young people interested in their first home encounter a significant gap between their financial capacity and the prices in the market, a situation that the models seek to represent concretely.
Riksbyggen advocates for increased housing production
The developer links the campaign to three reform proposals.
The first is to increase the production of houses, expanding the available supply in the market and addressing some of the access difficulties identified by the project.
Cheaper loans for first homes are the second proposal
The second advocated measure involves financing.
Riksbyggen aims to provide lower-cost loans for first-time buyers, reducing some of the financial barriers faced by young people trying to enter the real estate market.
Housing for seniors could free up properties for young people
The third proposal involves another age group.
The company advocates for the revival of a social housing construction program for older people, with the expectation that this change would free up more existing properties for young buyers.
Housing Minister visited one of the structures
The campaign has also reached the Swedish political debate.
Sweden’s Housing Minister, Andreas Carlsson, visited the houses and even accommodated himself in one of the small beds built within the models.
CEO sees more support for state-backed down payment loans
Johanna Frelin, CEO of Riksbyggen, reported a political advance regarding the three proposals, though with varying levels of support.
According to her, the greatest backing at that moment seemed concentrated on a state-backed down payment loan for first-time buyers.
Investments in housing for seniors have regained attention
The executive also highlighted a favorable movement on another front.
Johanna Frelin mentioned that support for investments aimed at constructing housing for older people was gaining renewed attention in the political debate.
State participation in construction risk faces greater resistance
The proposal considered politically challenging involves sharing the risks of constructing new housing.
Frelin acknowledged that this measure faces more obstacles, although she perceives a growing recognition of the need to tackle the housing problem.
Campaign aims to turn diagnosis into concrete policies
The houses of 1.9 m², 3.1 m², and 4.5 m² were not designed as real housing alternatives for young Swedes.
Riksbyggen and BBDO Nordics built the three models precisely to demonstrate the opposite: when average income, average savings, financing, and real estate prices are factored in, the space accessible to a 25-year-old can reach dimensions incompatible with a conventional residence.
In your opinion, which measure would have the greatest impact on increasing young people’s access to their first property: increasing the construction of housing, offering cheaper financing, or freeing up more properties through programs aimed at seniors? Leave your opinion in the comments.