Housing markets have started to improve in some areas of Finland and prices are set to rise, according to a forecast from Pellervo economic research PTT.
Nationally, prices of previously owned apartments are expected to rise by 0.5 percent this year, but there will be regional differences.
Housing prices will see the biggest increases in Tampere (2.1%) and Espoo (1.7%), according to PTT's forecast.
On the other hand, housing prices are expected to decline in the cities of Oulu, Vantaa and Turku, while they will remain steady in Helsinki, PTT said.
"Apartment prices are creeping up, albeit from a deep low. Interest rates have finally turned downward and household nominal incomes are developing well, which gives power to people's home purchase plans," PTT economist Veera Holappa said in a release.
The research outfit said there were several reasons for the regional price differences.
The housing market in the capital, for example, is lagging behind other cities because there are a large number of flats on the market and rental property investors have yet to make their move.
In the neighbouring Espoo, the situation is better than in other cities, due to a lot of people moving to the city — a phenomenon also seen in Tampere, according to PTT.
On the other hand, in Oulu prices are expected to continue to fall this year (-2.0%). That was due to strong price growth in the city last year, with the exception of the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, population growth in bigger cities has accelerated demand for rental flats, but an abundance of apartments will prevent further major rent hikes, according to PTT.
The group's forecast calls for an overall two percent rent hike for rental apartments on the open market, with increases accelerating towards the end of the year.
Rental prices are expected to rise most quickly in Oulu (2.8% annually), according to PTT, which added that it expects rents in the cities of Tampere, Turku and Jyväskylä to rise by 2.4-2.5% this year.
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