SökHem vs Hemnet

What is the difference between SökHem and Hemnet?

The biggest difference is the direction. Hemnet is a listing portal: estate agents post homes, and buyers visit the site to browse them. SökHem turns the model around. Here we search, you choose. You create a watchlist where you describe what you are looking for, draw exactly which areas are interesting directly on the map and set price, size and home type. SökHem then monitors the housing market broadly, scores each new home against your profile and contacts you when something actually matches. So you never have to monitor portals yourself every day.

Another important difference concerns sellers: on Hemnet listings are published through an appointed estate agent, while on SökHem you can list your home for free and choose yourself how much agent help to add, from none at all to the full service. The table below summarises the differences point by point.

Is SökHem free?

Yes. SökHem is free for buyers: watchlists, matches, notifications and contact with sellers cost nothing. SökHem is also free for sellers. The listing, exposure to matched buyers, bidding, viewing booking and the prepared purchase contract are included at no charge. The only things that cost are optional add-on services that you actively choose yourself, for example an agent to write the agreement, an agent to handle the whole sale, professional photography or viewing help. The add-ons are priced by each provider. Compare that with a traditional sale where the agent commission is usually 1,5–3 percent of the sale price. On a home worth three million kronor that is roughly 45 000–90 000 kronor. On Hemnet the seller also pays a listing fee to publish the ad, and publishing happens through the agent the seller has appointed.

Can I sell my home without an agent on SökHem?

Yes, it is fully legal to sell your home privately in Sweden, and SökHem is built to make it practical. You post the listing for free with up to 20 photos and a floor plan, get exposure to buyers whose watchlists match your home, manage viewing times and sign-ups, run bidding and communicate with interested buyers directly in the service. When you agree, we prepare the purchase contract with ready templates. Houses, terraced houses and plots are signed on paper, as Lantmäteriet (the Swedish mapping and land registration authority) does not accept electronically signed transfer documents. Bring in an agent or a lawyer for the contract part if you want it quality assured, or let an agent take the whole deal if you prefer. The point is that the choice is yours: you only pay for the help you actually want, instead of a commission that assumes the full package.

When is Hemnet the better fit?

Hemnet is Sweden's largest property portal and has the single biggest reach among home buyers. If you sell through an agent, a Hemnet listing is in practice always part of the setup, and if you want maximum exposure in a short time it is hard to look past it. The services do not exclude each other either: many sellers combine an agent-led Hemnet listing with a free listing on SökHem, and as a buyer you can let SökHem's watchlists pick up what appears on the market in your areas instead of browsing yourself every day. If you choose to sell entirely on your own, without an agent, Hemnet is not an option, since listings there are published through estate agents. In that case SökHem, together with other private-sale services, is the route that is open.

Frequently asked questions