- For foreign buyers
- Built with local realtors
- Updated this quarter
Here's 99% of what you need to know before buying in Copenhagen.
The 12 documents we wish we had before buying in Copenhagen. What each area costs, how long a flat sits before it sells, what the rules let you charge and let out. Plus the things nobody writes down: whether you are permitted to buy at all, and what kind of ownership you are actually being offered.
The 12 documents to make a good real estate investment in Copenhagen in 2026
A foreign buyer here may need the ministry's permission before signing anything, and a good share of what is on the market are co-operative shares rather than property at all. These documents show you what is actually earned and paid. They are put together with agents, lawyers and owners we work with in the city.
Questions
Do you list your sources?
Yes, on every table. Each one says where the figures came from and the month they were collected: registered sale prices, published registration and legal rates, listing histories we track ourselves, association accounts and maintenance plans shared with us by owners, and what the agents we work with in each area are seeing week to week. Anything that is an estimate rather than a recorded number is labelled as one.
Am I even allowed to buy here?
Not automatically, and it is the strictest thing about this market. Unless you have lived here for a set number of years, or hold an EU passport and will live in the property yourself, buying a home generally requires permission from the ministry. What applies to your situation, and how long it takes, is document 08.
What is the difference between the two kinds of flat?
One is property you own and register in your own name. The other is a share in a co-operative that owns the building, where the price is bounded by a valuation rather than by the market, the board approves you, and letting is restricted. Foreign buyers are often shown the second without being told which it is.
Is it true I can change my mind after signing?
Yes, within a few days of signing, against a payment of one percent of the price. It is the cheapest way to buy yourself time for a proper check, and hardly anyone uses it deliberately. How to plan around that window is in document 07.
Can I let it out to visitors?
Only for a few weeks a year in your own home, and less if the association has said no. It is a real limit rather than a guideline, and it is enforced through the tax authority's own reporting. Where it still works, and what it earns, is document 11.
What will I owe every year?
A property value tax and a land tax, both recalculated on new valuations that moved a great many bills. Document 06 sets out the purchase costs and the annual ones together, because the second matters more here than the first.
How long are the documents?
One to four pages each. They are tables and checklists rather than reports, so any one of them takes about ten minutes to read.
Which areas do you cover?
Eighteen areas: Indre By, Christianshavn, Nyhavn, Vesterbro, Kødbyen, Nørrebro, Østerbro, Frederiksberg, Islands Brygge, Amagerbro, Ørestad, Sydhavn, Nordhavn, Valby, Vanløse, Brønshøj, Hellerup and Gentofte. If you need somewhere or a specific building that is not in there, write to us and we will put it together for you at no extra cost.
I have a question about my own situation.
Ask us. If the answer is in the research we already have, we will send it. If it needs a call to someone in that area or a look at a specific building, we will do that too and come back to you, at no extra cost.
Is $99 a lot for a set of documents?
You are about to spend several million kroner in a market that may not let you buy at all without asking first. A share that is not a title, a permission nobody mentioned, a repair voted before you arrived: there are plenty of ways this gets expensive.
What format are they in, and when do I get them?
PDF, so you can read them on your phone, tablet or computer. The download link appears on screen straight after payment and a copy arrives by email.
How often are they updated?
Every quarter. Our contacts in Copenhagen re-check the numbers before each release, so the version you download today is the one updated this quarter.
I have another question.
Ask us on the contact page and we will get back to you.
Three packs
The first pack has 4 documents, the second has 6, and the third has all 12 of our Copenhagen research.
All the data and information in these documents was checked this year with agents, lawyers and owners working in Copenhagen.