This analysis was first published in SvD Näringsliv, in Swedish, on September 29th, 2026. This piece was translated from Swedish by Claude. Some phrasing may differ from a human translation.

Four in ten jobs are disappearing as Hemnet is remodeled. But the radical change affects more than its employees. The property-listings giant is now reworking its model – a shift that could be felt both in the supply of listings and in your wallet.

Hemnet has had a nightmare year on the stock market, down roughly 62 percent since the turn of the year. Brokers, shareholders and home buyers can no longer be counted on to stay loyal.

Now the company is set to cut costs, but the more interesting part is the change of strategy. After years of price increases and growing discontent, the site is starting to copy the upstart that has challenged its entire business.

Hemnet will “introduce free entry-level listings,” according to a press release. The purpose is to “gather all publicly available property listings.” That may not sound dramatic on first read. As recently as 2023, 90 percent of all homes sold had at some point been advertised on Hemnet, and back then the listings weren’t free. That position made it a highly profitable market leader.

But then it began to slide. The equivalent figure is now 82 percent.

The change means Hemnet will now do what its competitor Booli has done all along: collect every property listing in one place, whether or not the seller has paid for it. Having to let in free listings is a defeat – but also an attempt to win back the position Hemnet is losing.

The question is whether the new strategy comes too late. Buyers’ behavior has already shifted, and simply recreating Booli’s offering is no guarantee of success. The Hemnet brand has taken a hit. Everyone knows what it is – but it no longer stands for the same thing. And people don’t buy a home that many times in a lifetime, while the market moves fast.

Those who are in the market every day, though, are the brokers. They advise every seller and know best what works and what doesn’t. Originally, several brokerage firms were part-owners of Hemnet to ensure their interests were aligned. Mäklarsamfundet remains today, but the giants Svensk Fastighetsförmedling and Fastighetsbyrån have sold their entire stakes.

Winning back the brokers’ loyalty will now be decisive for Hemnet.

Part of that problem can be read in the income statement. Despite the drop on the stock market, Hemnet is a very profitable company. In the latest quarterly report, the operating margin before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at a full 46.4 percent.

The reason for the high profitability is the property listings, whose price has risen gradually in recent years. That value was previously shared among all the co-owners – hence many of the brokers. Without that mechanism in place, the bond between brokers and Hemnet is murkier.

That Hemnet is now cutting its staff by more than a third is probably not primarily about costs. The company has no profitability problem. It is a restart ahead of 2027 that involves far bigger changes across the whole organization. They are borrowing the competitor’s strategy, hoping more listings on the site will choose to upgrade to a paid package. If they do, a form of commission goes to the brokers as well. Should the new approach work, the brokers have quite a bit to gain too.

Meanwhile, the industry has not stood still through all the years of price hikes and frustration with Hemnet. Newcomers such as Boneo, Hemily and Norban have appeared to try to take individual pieces of the lucrative listings business. Booli, owned by the state-owned bank SBAB, keeps pushing.

If you want to explain the layoffs at Hemnet, this is where to look. The landscape is completely different, and by cutting staff Hemnet makes room to bring in other expertise.

Exactly what the platform will look like and how it will work next year, probably nobody knows – not even the company’s management. But the era when leadership could be taken for granted can be considered over.

Does age bring wisdom? That is what Hemnet now needs to prove.