Former football pro Håvard Nordtveit has had little luck selling luxury apartments.
The apartment has a view of the Oslofjord. Photo: BelèvenPublished:
Yesterday 12:26 p.m
Updated yesterday 12:49
Since Christmas 2022, Håvard Nordtveit has been trying to sell the 305 square meter luxury apartment at the far end of Tjuvholmen.
He bought the apartment for 76 million and tried to sell it for 90 million shortly after, with expensive art included in the price.
The apartment was bought using a so-called blank deed, a common practice when you want to “flip” apartments, i.e. make quick money on resale. The purpose is to avoid paying the document tax to the state, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of the sales price.
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Paying property tax for the terrace: – Hard to believe
After a heavy year for the luxury market and little sales, Nordtveit is now forking over NOK 1.9 million to pay the tax.
– We have realized that we pay the document fee, so we will take it at the pace we want. Now the market is coming back, so then we might as well wait until it’s up and nodding again, says Dag-Rune Kristiansen, estate agent and general manager in Belèven, to E24.
When you buy on a blank deed, you have papers to show that you have bought the apartment, but it is registered in the name of the previous owner.
Håvard Nordtveit played over 50 international matches for Norway’s A national team. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
– Suddenly awesome again
Nordtveit, through his company Howie AS, was listed as the seller of what was Norway’s most expensive apartment for sale on the open market earlier this year.
The apartment is now rented out until August and will then be put up for sale again. The plan is a suggested price of NOK 85 million, the same as last time, according to Kristiansen.
It has four bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows in three directions, including towards the Oslofjord and Holmenkollen.
– How do you see this market now?
– It’s suddenly terrible again. In February, we sold more homes in four days than we did in the entire fourth quarter of 2023. We feel that it is very much back again, says the estate agent.
The apartment is 305 square meters and has been advertised at a price per square meter of around 280,000. Photo: Belèven
– No great drama
When the asking price was set at NOK 90 million, a number of works of art were included in the price. Among them was a print of Edvard Munch’s famous work “Vampire”.
Last year it was published again, but without the art and at a reduced asking price of NOK 85 million.
– How do you look back on the decision to buy and try to “flip” in that market?
– When we bought it, it was a very positive market. But once the takeover had taken place, we had just entered the fray. There was no great drama in it. You know that when you buy a home like that, you know that it can take time, that’s part of the game, says Kristiansen.
The estate agent has made no secret of the fact that the apartment was bought to “freak out”.
Last year, Nordtveit sold an apartment in the neighboring building, Kavringen Brygge, for NOK 48 million – NOK 11.5 million more than he bought the apartment for a year and a half earlier. Also then, Kristiansen was a real estate agent for Nordtveit.
E24 has been in contact with Håvard Nordtveit through the estate agent. The former footballer does not want to comment on the matter.