Swedish Heiress Breaks Price Records for Stockholm Townhouse

Sweden recorded one of its most expensive residential sales ever this past week, with a 100-year-old townhouse in the high-end Östermalm area of Stockholm trading hands for 125 million kroner (US$15 million).

Swedish billionaire heiress Katarina Martinson bought the pricey house in the Swedish capital from magazine publisher Allers Media, which had used the three-story property as offices, according to the purchase agreement signed by the heiress and Allers CFO Monica Hansson.

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Ms. Hansson did not immediately return a request for comment.

The deal was brokered by Swedish agency Lagerlings, which also did not return request for comment. The brokerage never posted a listing for the property, making information about the home scarce. Local tabloid Expressen initially reported the sale.

The apricot-colored stucco rowhouse is located on a narrow, cobblestone road that literally translates to "Quiet Street."

It’s part of a historic quarter of attached, three-story houses built at the end of World War I. This particular home, with itseyebrow dormer windows, was designed by architect Gustav Adolf Falk, according to records with the Stockholm City Museum. The home has vaulted ceilings, tiled floors, several fireplaces and stained glass with biblical motifs, according to a description of the house in city records.

Local media are calling the deal the most expensive sale ever in Sweden. It’s at least the most expensive in Stockholm, beating out a townhouse directly next door to Ms. Martinson’s new home, which sold in January for 120 million kroner (US$14 million), according to records accessed through Swedish property portal Booli. That home reportedly belongs to BP and Volvo chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg.

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Ms. Martinson, 36, is the daughter of Swedish billionaire Fredrik Lundberg, the head of family investment firm L E Lundbergföretagen AB, which holds interests in real estate, construction and pulp and paper companies. She owns about a 14% stake in the firm and is an active board member on a number of the investment group’s companies, including power tool maker Husqvarna, according to Forbes, which estimates her wealth at around US$1.33 billion.

A spokesman for the investment group did not immediately return request for comment.