Home for sale in Copenhagen: prices, rules and steps to buy

Looking for a home for sale in Copenhagen? Before comparing listings, two questions come first: are you allowed to buy in Denmark, and what budget should you plan for? On the right to buy, the general rule is clear: if you are not domiciled in Denmark and have not lived there for at least five years, you must obtain authorisation from the Department of Civil Affairs (Civilstyrelsen). Citizens of the European Union, including French nationals, benefit from a more flexible regime when they buy their main residence under free movement.

For the budget, Danmarks Statistik figures give the order of magnitude. In the second quarter of 2026, a condominium apartment (ejerlejlighed) sold for an average of 6.17 million Danish kroner (DKK) in the Byen København area, against 5.29 million a year earlier. A detached house there exceeded DKK 8.3 million. Copenhagen therefore remains an expensive market, where prices have risen sharply over one year.

This guide covers, in order, the buying rules for foreigners, the prices observed, the neighbourhoods and the checks to make before signing.

Who can buy a home in Copenhagen?

Danish rules apply to all types of property: house, building plot, condominium apartment, holiday home or share in a housing cooperative (andelsbolig). They apply whatever the intended use.

You already live in Denmark

No authorisation is needed if you are domiciled in Denmark or have lived there for at least five years, according to the population register (CPR). These five years do not need to be consecutive. Domicile is not simply a matter of living in the country: the authorities assess case by case the length of your stay, your family situation, your children's schooling, your use of Danish, your job or studies and your other ties.

You are a citizen of the European Union

A national of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland can buy their main residence without authorisation, subject to conditions, when the purchase is part of exercising free movement. This is the case if you are employed in Denmark or in another EU country, if you hold an EU residence permit, if you are setting up as self-employed or if you have sufficient resources.

When your title deed is registered, you give the land registry court (Tinglysningsretten) a sworn declaration, for which you are criminally liable. It states in particular that the property is not a holiday home and will not be used as one. If you later leave the home, the authorities can order you to sell it within six months, unless you had lived in Denmark for more than five years by then.

You come from a non-EU country

Without a domicile in Denmark or five years of residence, authorisation is mandatory. It is never general: it applies to a specific property and requires that you reside legally in Denmark and make the property your main residence. The file includes proof of residence, a declaration of use, the preliminary sales agreement or the property's sales particulars (salgsopstilling) and the planned date of acquisition. Processing takes up to four weeks, and the authorisation can be transferred to another property within three months of the decision.

The case of a second home

Buying a holiday home or a pied-à-terre without a domicile in Denmark requires particularly strong ties with the country. The main criterion is the holiday time spent in Denmark over a long period: for example, at least one week every year for the last 25 years. Processing can take up to ten weeks. A prior authorisation, valid for three years, then lets you search for the property.