The surge in interest in real estate from American buyers in Greenland's Nuuk at the beginning of last year prompted lawmakers to hastily introduce restrictions on foreign purchases and shift the focus of the future Greenlandic foreign investment screening law.
Before U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric about wanting to “purchase” Greenland, foreigners had shown little interest in real estate in Nuuk.
Nuuk, also known as Godthåb, is the largest city in Greenland. Founded in 1728, the name Godthåb was officially used until 1979. The city has a population of about 20,000 people, which is roughly one-third of the island's population.
In January 2025, around the time when Trump renewed his efforts to strengthen control over Greenland, lawyers and real estate agencies in the capital began receiving numerous inquiries from American buyers.
“The most aggressive among them wanted to buy everything that was available on the market,” said one of the agency's sources.
Trump's interest in the Arctic island has put lawmakers in a dilemma. Local representatives are trying to balance the need to attract capital to stimulate the stagnant economy with the desire to block American investors who they suspect may have hidden political motives.
At the same time, it is unclear who these investors were and whether they were connected to Trump's ambitions regarding Greenland.
According to three Reuters sources, the sudden interest alarmed lawmakers. They feared that foreign buyers could displace residents from an already strained housing market in Nuuk.
A bill on foreign investment screening, which had been in development for a long time and was officially submitted to parliament in October, was initially partly conceived as a safeguard against unwanted Chinese investments. However, after Trump's ambitions regarding Greenland were renewed, the focus shifted.
The bill, first discussed in November, will be reconsidered in April and is expected to be passed in the same month.
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