Private rental growth widens inequality gap in small Swedish towns

<p>This study examines spatial and temporal patterns of Private Rental Sector (PRS) growth and its associations with socioeconomic residential segregation across Swedish municipalities from 1994 to 2019. Drawing on administrative register data and an Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis framework, including dissimilarity indices, bivariate choropleth maps, and correlation analysis, the study situates PRS growth as a form of rental housing financialisation that structurally transforms the rental sector and shapes the socio-spatial sorting of residents. The key contribution is the identification of a clear urban-rural divide in how PRS growth relates to socioeconomic residential segregation. In less urban municipalities (small towns, rural municipalities, and commuting municipalities near small towns), PRS growth correlates positively with increased segregation, pointing to residualisation in a shrinking public rental sector. In more urban municipalities (large cities and medium-sized towns), the relationship is reversed: PRS growth is negatively associated with segregation, explained by either housing market tightness and ‘locked-in’ dynamics, or resilient housing system characteristics. These findings highlight the variegated, context-dependent nature of financialised housing processes. The study contributes to debates on housing universalism and the geography of financialisation within welfare states, with policy implications for Sweden’s decentralised housing system. </p>