Like in any other Northern European country, real estate purchase in Finland is not a cheap pleasure. Is it worth money spending? What expects the market in the near future? Which property is better to purchase for personal purposes and for investment? Read in ee24.com article.
Real Estate in Finland is very expensive nowadays, and may be even the most expensive over its recent history. Real estate market in this European country has overcome the crisis so fast, as if it had never existed. Spain and Greece are still "falling", Portugal is going round in a circle, Bulgaria somehow climbs but Finland doesn’t even care.

Capital, border region and the rest

Finland is virtually a monocountry where the capital is a bright dominant and all the rest like plenty towns and villages just exists. It's like Russia with its Moscow and St. Petersburg cities, Baltics with their capitals or as Great Britain with London and France with Paris. On the other side are decentralized Germany, diverse Italy and motley Switzerland.
And here in this Finnish monocountry appear all laws relevant for such structures: the capital is inconveniently expensive while in other cities you are always welcome but do you need it? It looks like two factors determining the region success are: mild climate (or do you want to live "at the north" in latitude where Murmansk and Vorkuta are?) and proximity to the "rich" Russia. Southern Finland meets these conditions, so the prices there are much higher than in the northern part of the country.
According to official agencies statistics, housing cost index in construction companies (in 2000 = 100) is growing constantly. In 2007 it was already 146.6 points, in 2008 - 147.5, in 2009 - 147 (yeah, here is a crisis!). But already in 2010 - a dramatic improvement up to 159.9 points, and in 2013 the index was 169.5. These are the miracles of the Finnish forest.
Let’s go into details. Today on the secondary real estate market a meter may be purchased for about €2,000-2,200. In Greater Helsinki (it's like the Great Moscow - the city its suburbs and nearby villages) a square meter goes for €3,400-3,600, and in the rest of Finland's net capital region for €1,600-1,700. You may orient at these prices when purchasing property in Finland, only if you didn’t decide to acquire a new home. It is obvious that cheap apartments may be purchased from €50,000-60,000. Although, of course you may find options starting from €30,000 but that will be a modest studio in the unpopular location.
Newly built houses are more complicated issue. For the Finns it is easier to renovate an apartment house (they take a bank loan for these purposes every few years) than to build a new one. So cranes are rarely to meet in Finnish cities. New houses and apartments in Finland are sold for €3,400-3,600 per sq. m, including the Helsinki region - €4,600 while in other areas price is €3,000.
Over the past year or two prices varied insignificantly, although there is a tendency for increase. According to the latest information published in the end of March 2014, housing in Helsinki rose in prise up by 2% during last year, while in the rest of the country prices have fallen by 1.7%. Of course, we are talking about the secondary market.
Anna Khmilevskaya, Specialist at Property Selection, notes that apartment prices growth in Finland continues in the beginning of 2014.They increased by half a percent from January to February, while the metropolitan area rose in price faster. Prices in Oulu - the fifth most populous city in Finland, increased most of all for 4% in the beginning of 2014.

What is the price for the Russians?

We always say: Helsinki and the rest of the country. Let's see what you may buy and how much you will pay in the "rest of the country" and especially in regions where the Russians prefer to settle making 400-500 real estate purchases in Finland every year. As Andrew Neznaev, Project Manager at DomSuomi, told to ee24.com, usually it’s about the purchase of 50-100 acres land plot with is a medium-sized 2-3 bedrooms house. The Russians also want to have private access to the lake. Such variants with good location and in good condition may be really found for €200,000-250,000. Generally, buying a separate cottage in Finland will acquire at least €80,000-100,000.
In Southern Finland popular among the Russians, prices for both existing and new homes have been rising for the last few years. A meter has already exceeded €2,600 limit in the secondary housing market and €2,900 in the primary housing. But there are also cheap areas, such as South Karelia. The average price of a square meter in the secondary market is equal to €1,600, including Lappeenranta with €1,900 and Imatra - €1,100. And if you look at all the cities in Finland with a population of more than 20 thousand people, the most profitable real estate purchase - for less than €1,000 per square meter may be made in Kemi (Lapland , near the border with Sweden) and in Varkaus (Northern Savo close to Russian Karelia and Leningrad region).
The Finns, the Russians and the Germans are the purchasing leaders in the country of a thousand lakes. The swedes are quite active and in Finland their language proclaimed to be the second state language. It is expected that the interest of the ubiquitous Chinese will grow. No wonder that every now and then there are proposals to forbid the land purchase by foreigners in Finland, but yet it’s nothing but radical’s talks.

What real estate to buy in Finland?

Hurry up with the purchase as the market outlook is positive: it is expected that prices will stabilize and slightly grow. But it worth purchasing real estate in Finland only for own residence - it may be a good alternative to summer cottage in Russia.
Acquire ready cottages in Finland or build your own it will cost approximately €2,000 per sq.m and the same price for square meter of turnkey house. Although, you may surely save on a good site location and construction materials and reduce the budget by 2 times. Cottage on the lake shore rented by the Russians on a daily basis will bring to its owner several thousand euros per month, but it's not a year-round possibility.
Buying an apartment in Helsinki or border towns for private purposes is also a good choice. Apartment rent in the capital city will satisfy modest investors. Good apartment may earn more than €1,000 per month that is 3-5% per annum.
When purchasing commercial real estate in Finland, it is important to decide - whether you want to bet on tourists (restaurants and hotels in big cities and ski resorts) or locals (here you may try beauty salons and sports clubs or shops). With retail and office space in Finland it’s possible to receive up to 6% per annum.