Hemnet Reports Record Traffic as Swedes Go Back Online

Sweden’s market-leading portal, Hemnet this week announced record traffic figures. Impressively, the site has not only recorded a recovery in traffic but has logged record traffic figures with 62 million visits in April. 

The visits figure for April represents a 17% year-on-year rise while visits for week 20, in particular, were up by 20%. The reasons for the rise in house hunter interest seem to be similar to those seen elsewhere, with Hemnet CEO, Cecilia Beck-Friis saying:

“It is possible that the crisis and the fact that we spend more time at home has made more people reevaluate their current residence. You can assume that more people are longing for more space and a garden”

Notably, Sweden has been something of a case-study when it comes to the measures taken to control the spread of coronavirus. The country’s government has backed a ‘herd-immunity’ strategy where citizens’ movements are not as restricted as in the rest of Europe. Although it’s unclear whether this is a factor in the burgeoning traffic stats reported, certainly comparisons to any traffic stat rebounds in countries which have seen strict lockdown measures should be taken with a pinch of salt.