Nearly nine out of 10 people in mainland Finland live in areas where housing values will rise or remain steady, according to projections by Kiinteistömaailma. The group, which bills itself as Finland's largest franchise-based real estate chain, is owned by Danske Bank.
Kiinteistömaailma predicts that within the next two years, prices for flats and houses will rise in 32 municipalities and decline in 70 municipalities. Some 87 percent of the population is based in areas where real estate values are set to hold firm or edge upward, the company estimates.
"Serious work" needed to maintain attractiveness
There are 311 municipalities in Finland, 16 of them in the autonomous maritime province of Åland, which are not included in the Kiinteistömaailma projection for 2018–2020.
The survey suggests that there is a deepening divide between municipalities that are growing and those that are declining. The latter areas are now home to more than half a million people, notes Kiinteistömaailma CEO Erkki Heikkinen.
"These municipalities must do serious work to improve services and job prospects in order to maintain their attractiveness," Heikkinen said in a statement.
Top 5 gainers
- Helsinki +3.0%
- Kokkola +2.4%
- Tampere +1.6%
- Espoo +1.5%
- Turku +1.5%
Some 1.92 million people, or more than one third of the population, reside in the 32 municipalities pegged as gainers.
Top 5 decliners
- Pieksämäki -3.8%
- Salo -2.9%
- Mänttä-Vilppula -2.2%
- Pargas (Parainen) -2.0%
- Heinola -1.8%
The 70 municipalities where houses and apartments are expected to lose value are home to 560,000 people, roughly one tenth of the population. While eastern and northern Finland has suffered the most from depopulation in recent decades, the top five projected decliners through 2020 are all in south-central and south-western Finland.