Granted, the sober facades of Götene's large housing blocks have little in common with the classic ideal of the traditional Swedish cottage in red and white. But on the other hand, with land selling at less than 1 krone (about 10 cents) per square meter, prices in the southeastern Swedish town — population 5,000 — make it attractive.

Buyers looking to procure a 150-square-meter (1,615-square-foot) plot, about the size needed to build a single-family home, can currently get one for less than €15 ($16). That extremely cheap price applies to 30 lots abandoned in Götene decades ago.

But no one seems interested in them, even though the town is located near Sweden's popular Vänern, the largest lake in the European Union.

The town hopes that by selling the plots for so little, it can attract buyers to the region and breathe new life into it. One stipulation, though, is that new owners are required to build a house on the plot within two years.

Even though the lots went on offer so cheap, sales started off sluggish. But then a viral TikTok video and international news coverage by English-language outlets led to a breakthrough, and city administrators were suddenly swamped with inquiries.

"We had prospects from Europe, Asia — mostly India and Pakistan — the US, Australia and even South America," said Mayor Johann Mansson.

Sales have now been paused, with an eye to putting the municipality's remaining lots up for auction in early August.

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