Valuing an andelsbolig: how the price is set

A cooperative home (andelsbolig) has no free market price. The price is a fixed technical calculation with a ceiling set out in section 5(1) of the Danish Cooperative Housing Associations Act (andelsboligloven), so you cannot simply set the price according to what your neighbour got for their owner-occupied flat. That does not mean prices stand still. In Copenhagen they have more than doubled in 10 years, from 12.787 kr./m² in 2015 to 32.370 kr./m² in 2025, and a 75 m² cooperative home today typically has a maximum price of 2,0 to 2,5 million kr.

The maximum price is only a ceiling. You are free to sell below it, but selling above it is illegal and a punishable offence. It is made up of the share value, the value of approved improvements and an addition or deduction for the home’s state of maintenance. The rest of the article covers the maximum price, the andelskrone (share rate), the association’s finances and preparing for the sale, so you know what really determines your price before you put your home on the market.

Maximum price for a cooperative home

The maximum price is not a single figure that someone has estimated freely. It is the sum of a few clear components that you can work through yourself if you know them. This is what the formula looks like:

maximum price = share value + value of approved improvements + value of permanently installed fixtures, with an addition or deduction for the state of maintenance.

The individual components are:

• The share value, which is the andelskrone multiplied by the home’s floor area

• The value of the improvements that have been approved

• The value of permanently installed fixtures

• An addition or deduction reflecting the home’s state of maintenance

A worked example with an 80 m² cooperative home makes it easier to see how the components add up:

• Andelskrone 7.500 kr./m² × 80 m² = share value 600.000 kr.

• New kitchen and bathroom after depreciation: 180.000 kr.

• Deduction for condition: -10.000 kr.

• Maximum purchase price: 770.000 kr.

You do not set the price of the improvements yourself. They are assessed by an independent valuer, usually commissioned by the association’s administrator, and the board approves the final transfer agreement.

Nor should you expect to make money on the improvements you carry out. At most, you can recover what they cost to put in, and ordinary wear and tear does not qualify for an addition at all.

Andelskrone: the figure that determines your share value

The andelskrone is the bridge between the association’s finances and the value of your particular home. It is calculated as the value of the property plus other assets minus the association’s debt, divided by the original contributions from all the members. You multiply that figure by your own contribution, and you have your share value. Put another way: the andelskrone tells you what one krone of the original contribution is worth today.

A worked example makes it concrete. If the association has net assets of 2.500.000 kr. and total original contributions of 500.000 kr., the andelskrone is 2.500.000 / 500.000 = 5,00 kr. If the debt grows, it is deducted in the numerator, the equity falls and the andelskrone falls with it. The association’s loans are therefore not just the board’s business, but something that hits your share value directly.

The andelskrone does not float from day to day. It is set once a year at the general meeting, usually when the accounts and budget are approved, and it has a statutory ceiling that the association cannot exceed. The association can, however, choose to set it lower, for example to keep prices stable, and some associations write down the property’s maximum price when they calculate the andelskrone.

The size of your home also plays a part. Larger homes are usually allocated more shares than smaller ones, and this is reflected in a higher share total. Two neighbours sharing a stairwell can therefore have very different share values, even though they share both the property’s value and the association’s debt.

Valuer’s assessment of a cooperative housing association

The association’s finances are only one half of the equation. The other half is the principle the association has chosen for valuing the property, because that lays the foundation for your maximum price. So you cannot assess a cooperative housing association by glancing at a sales listing. You have to dig into the association’s accounts.

Section 5 of the Cooperative Housing Associations Act offers four principles to choose from:

• Acquisition price, i.e. the price the association itself paid when it was founded, plus improvements to the property

• Valuer’s assessment, where the property is valued at its cash market value as a rental property

• Official property valuation

• Public property valuation with net price indexation

The first two are used in very different situations. The acquisition price suits newly built associations best, where the value has not moved since the association was founded. The valuer’s assessment, on the other hand, is the principle most older associations in the cities settle on, because it tries to capture what the property could actually fetch on the open market.

The board cannot sign off a valuer’s assessment of the cooperative housing association itself. It must be prepared by an authorised person, typically an estate agent, a state-authorised or registered public accountant, or a valuer with special authorisation. Since the change in the law on 15 April 2024, a valuer’s assessment is valid for 42 months, an extension of the previous 18 months that also applies to assessments made before the law came into force.

In practice, this means the association must obtain a new valuation at least every three years when closing its accounts. Some choose to do so more often. Once the association has obtained a new valuation, the old one can no longer be used in the calculation, even if it is still within the 42 months.

The two public principles have their own history. New public property valuations were suspended in 2012, so most public property valuations are in effect a copy of the 2012 valuations. The provisional land value that associations received in December 2023 cannot be used in the share value calculation, not even once it becomes final. From 15 April 2024, however, associations have been able to index the latest public valuation to the net price index, and that is why the fourth principle exists.

Whichever principle is in play, the quality of the valuation depends on what the valuer has to work with. They must have access to all relevant information about the home and the association, including accounts, articles of association, building permits and any condition reports or energy labels. If any of it is missing, the valuation becomes an estimate on a thinner basis, and that is rarely in your favour.

Accounts, debt and articles of association in a cooperative home valuation

The maximum price and the andelskrone are built on figures, but those figures come from the association’s accounts. That is why a valuation of a cooperative home is never complete until you have looked into how the association manages its finances. Every year, a cooperative housing association must present annual accounts in accordance with the Cooperative Housing Associations Act and its executive orders, the association’s own articles of association and the basic requirements of the Danish Financial Statements Act. The annual accounts are required by law, and the association must prepare them every year.

The debt in those accounts is worth a closer look. The Financial Statements Act does not lay down specific requirements for the method associations in reporting class A must use to measure their debt, but they can take inspiration from reporting class B. There, after initial recognition, debt is measured at amortised cost on the balance sheet date. You do not need to be able to calculate amortised cost in your head, but you should understand that the way the association books its debt helps determine the net assets on which the andelskrone rests.

One of the most easily overlooked items in the calculation is planned major maintenance or improvement work. Always ask whether the association has any major maintenance or improvement work planned. A roof that needs replacing in two years, or a facade project in the planning stage, usually means new loans or an extra levy, and that affects your financial obligations going forward. A cooperative home valuation that looks good today can look quite different once the bill for the upcoming work has been factored in.

The articles of association play the same role on a different level. They determine how the association can take out loans, how maintenance is divided between the association and the individual member, and what it takes to push through major decisions. If you don’t read them, you may end up taking over a home where you are personally liable for something you thought was covered by the shared costs.

If you are selling, you are entitled to get hold of the material. No later than 10 working days after a request from a member who wants to sell, the board must hand over the necessary information about the association. That gives you a firm deadline to hold the board to, so you don’t have to wait months before you can put your home on the market.

Before you buy or sell, you should go through the following:

• The association’s articles of association

• The latest accounts and budget

• Minutes of the latest ordinary general meeting

• House rules

• Maintenance plan

• The property’s energy label

A maintenance plan is particularly worth spending time on, because it should show whether major conversion or maintenance projects are on the horizon and how they will be financed. If you see a project without a matching item in the budget, that is a question you need to ask before you sign. You can also get expert assistance, for example from a lawyer who, at a minimum, reviews the mandatory documents and information forms as well as the maintenance plan. You can book a cooperative home valuation with a professional if you want the figures and documents checked by someone who sees this kind of thing every day.

Selling a cooperative home: preparation and documents

When you sell a cooperative home, the paperwork matters more than the listing for how quickly the sale goes through. The buyer needs to see the association’s finances in black and white, and the board must approve the transfer. That is why preparing to sell a cooperative home is largely about gathering the documents for the sale before you even think about viewings.

What you need to have ready for the buyer:

• The association’s articles of association

• Latest annual accounts and budget

• Minutes of the latest ordinary general meeting and any subsequent general meetings

• Maintenance plan, if the association has one

• The property’s energy label

Allow around 1 to 2 weeks for preparation, valuation and approvals, and use the time to get every single document up to date. If you start too late, you end up marketing a home where the buyer asks questions you can’t answer yet.

The typical pitfall is precisely insufficient documentation. If the articles of association, accounts, minutes of general meetings or documentation of improvements are missing, the sale stalls and the buyer starts to doubt everything else. If you don’t have the material in order yourself, the board can help you, and they have ten days to hand over the key information to you.

Once the documents are in place, the next step is to get the figures confirmed. Book a cooperative home valuation with Brikk, which offers a free, no-obligation valuation by phone. If you choose to go ahead, Brikk handles the rest of the sale in a sales set-up for 22.500 kr. all inclusive. You hold the viewings yourself, while follow-up, negotiation and the practicalities with buyers are handled for you. That is how you get from a fully documented cooperative home to a signed agreement.