Housing summit: Future housing market and urban development in the Capital Region of Denmark

As for many other large cities, the demographic pressure on Copenhagen has been high in recent years, the housing supply has not responded adequately, and together this has fueled rapid price increases in the city centre. This implies several socio-economic challenges, including potential negative effects on future social equality, economic growth and financial stability.

On this background, we have been asked to facilitate a housing summit and discussion between the Danish Minister of Transport, Building, and Housing and the Mayors of all the 28 municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark.

The results of our analysis and the summit were manifold:

• First, to accommodate the rising demand, the housing supply in Copenhagen and inner suburbs still need to increase quite a lot in years to come – more than what is currently in the local municipal plans.
• Secondly, the municipalities in the region face significant regulatory barriers to increasing the future housing supply – especially municipal budget constraints on new required investments, as well as regulation on how and where to densify and develop new and existing urban areas.
• Finally, many potential solutions were discussed: Better regional infrastructure could help by increasing the demand spill-overs from the city and outwards, while the municipal budget constraints could be eased through public-private-partnerships or public development companies, allowing for user financed investments to develop new residential areas.

The study is commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Transport, Building, and Housing.

On October 1, Senior Economist Christian Heebøll presented these and other results at a housing market summit, facilitating a discussion between the Danish Minister of Transport, Building, and Housing and the Mayors of all the 28 municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark.

Read more about the summit