Voices from Oslo: "What I wish I knew before buying a home"

"3 things I wish I knew about buying a home in Oslo, as a first-time buyer"

by Gabriella Mikiewicz (01 October 2025)

Buying property for the first time is a big step anywhere, at any time. Doing it in a new country, in a language you're still learning, with systems you've never used before... is a whole other level!

When I started this journey, I felt completely out of my depth, but I wish I'd known then what I know now. It would have saved me a lot of stress, and made the process seem less scary from the beginning!

Here are three things I've learned along the way:

1. I wish I had started going to showings earlier

At first, I thought I needed to have everyting ready before I stepped into a single apartment block. But then I got great advice from a friend who had recently purchased his own apartment: start going to showings (visning) as soon as you want to start looking into it!

You don't need the bank approval, any paperwork, all your savings ready, or anything else to go to a showing. You just need to RSVP online and show up!

This was a great way to understand what's on the market, what I liked or didn't like, and what was realistic for my budget. I also spent a lot of time eavesdropping into other people's conversations to see what they were asking the real estate agent themselves.

At one showing, they were asking detailed questions about things from the salgsoppgave, a document that I had never heard of and definitely didn't thoroughly read before the showing... But that's how you learn.

By the time we found a place that we truly liked, I felt more prepared and less panicked about the process.

2. I wish I knew how supportive banks and real estate agents can be

I had this picture in my head of intimidating people working at big institutions that just wanted to somehow trick me into accepting really poor deal terms. But my experience was the complete opposite of that. It might seem shocking to some, but I felt like people genuinely wanted us to succeed! Wild!

Because my Norwegian partner had a long history with his bank, I opened an account there too. We were assigned an advisor who would determine our loan amount, and we actually had three Teams meetings with him where we were able to ask any questions we had! He explained every step of the way, and we could send him listings we liked so he could help us calculate potential loan costs and repayment plans. It was surprisingly personal.

The same was true with the real estate agent. When there weren’t any public showings available for the apartment, he offered us private viewings—twice! His company was hired by the seller, but I felt like he had both parties' best interest in mind as he negotiated between us. He listened to our questions and explained things clearly. Then, when it came time to bid, we were the only ones in the process, which made everything far less stressful. It turns out that just contacting people directly, asking any and all questions, is super helpful.

3. The process is easy—almost too easy!—and things move fast

The early parts of the process went along at a normal pace: gathering documents, proving income, answering some additional questions from the bank since I had moved to Norway only two years earlier. But once that was done, things shifted into high gear.

Here's just how fast things moved:

• We saw an apartment we liked online on a Thursday.
• We scheduled private viewings for Friday and Saturday.
• We put in a bid on Monday morning, and after several negotiation rounds, it was ours.

It was a little surreall. The bidding process happens entirely by text. Yes, texting! I was literally at work when my boyfriend texted saying we'd won the bid.

From there, everything else (contracts, signatures, payment transfers, etc.) was handled digitlaly. It was almost too easy! One moment we were casually browsing listings, and the next, we were homeowners!

Buying a home in Norway isn't without challenges, but if there's one main lesson I learned, it's that you don't have to know everything perfectly in detail from the start. Go to showings when you feel ready. Talk to the bank and ask all the questions you have. And when things start to accelerate... enjoy the ride! Because before you know it, you'll be picking up the keys and getting started on a whole new journey.

Read more from Welcome to Oslo:

• Buying a home: a beginner's guide for newcomers to Oslo on how buying a home works—from browsing ads to bidding, banks, and understanding ownership types.
• Oslo's housing market: Understand price levels, neighborhoods, and where to find reliable housing statistics and support.
• Voices from Oslo: Renting a flat in Oslo: an international in Norway shares her tips for navigating a tough housing market as a renter.