STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - Sweden's Accounting Standards Board (BFN) said on Monday that housing associations should take higher annual charges for depreciation of newly built apartment buildings, a move that analysts say could affect real estate prices.
A number of Sweden's 24,000 housing associations, which own around 1 million apartments in the country, use an accounting trick to put off the full cost of depreciation in the value of the property.
This in turn means lower monthly charges for occupiers and, in general, higher real estate prices.
But the BFN, a government body, said on Monday that delaying the costs of depreciation was not appropriate accounting policy.
There has been a debate in Sweden recently about whether housing associations can use so-called progressive depreciation, which has prompted Monday's statement from the BFN.
(Reporting by Oskar von Bahr)
((oskar.vonbahr@thomsonreuters.com)(+46 8 700 11 46)(Reuters Messaging: oskar.vonbahr.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: CONSTRUCTION
