The coronavirus crisis took a toll on Finland's real estate market last month compared to the same time a year ago, according to the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies.
The group said that housing sales were more than 31 percent lower last month than they were in May 2019.
Major drops in sales were reported in the municipalities of Vantaa and Joensuu during May, which saw sales declines of 47 and 53 percent respectively compared to a year ago. In Espoo, the sales drop was around 23 percent.
Similarly, sales of older flats in housing companies fell by 35 percent in April compared to last year, according to Statistics Finland.
However, trade began to pick up somewhat towards the end of May, according to the federation.
The coronavirus-caused sales slowdown has not yet appeared to have had a major impact on housing prices, according to realtor data.
Prices up in some areas
In the greater Helsinki region, for instance the average going rate for pre-owned flats rose by 0.6 percent during April-May. Meanwhile in the southwestern city of Turku, prices for such apartments rose by 4.7 percent and in Oulu, on the northwest coast, prices went up by as much as 7.2 percent, according to the federation.
The average per-square-metre price for old flats in the Helsinki region was 4,926 euros, and 2,394 euros across the rest of the country.
The federation's sales statistics were based on roughly 75 percent of all second-hand housing transactions, according to the organisation.