Hemnet’s New Transparency Push Shows February Listings Drop

Swedish market-leader Hemnet has published its first monthly trading update for 2026, and the numbers make for grim reading. February net sales fell 22% year-on-year to SEK 87.9 million, while published listings dropped 30% to 8,700. Paid listings fell even faster, down 41% to 7,400, as Sweden’s dominant portal begins shifting towards its new “Sell First, Pay Later” model.

ARPL paid rose 11% to SEK 9,082, but that uplift was nowhere near enough to offset the collapse in listing numbers.

Hemnet spent years being the poster child for pricing power in portals, but has recently come under pressure from 'pre-market' specialist competitors as well as a soft domestic housing market.
Below: The PPW Pod speak to Fredrik Engdahl, CEO of Hemnet rival, Boneo

The numbers come as Hemnet starts its monthly disclosures as part of a transparency push tied to the transition to the “Sell First, Pay Later” offer. Launched in Stockholm County on 2 February, the scheme lets sellers defer payment until completion, lowering the upfront barrier to listing. Hemnet says around 50% of eligible sellers in Stockholm chose the option in its first month, while listings in the region outperformed the rest of Sweden by more than 20 percentage points year-on-year.

Hemnet is effectively using deferred payment to rebuild listing momentum after a period of notably weak volume performance. The early sell-through rate, at just below 20%, will be watched closely, too.