Statistics Finland says that the property market has picked up slightly after a long decline, but newer apartments are still slow to sell.
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The construction sector is struggling due to a slowdown in the market for newbuild properties. Photo shows a construction site in Tampere in October 2016. Image: Jari Kovalainen / Yle
There was an increase of one fifth in sales of older housing units in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary data from Statistics Finland based on data from real estate agents.
The increase represents a stabilisation of the property market, although the comparison period — July-September 2023 — was a particular low point.
Sales of new properties, however, were down by more than a fifth in the same period. The prices of new properties that are part of housing companies fell by 2.3 percent compared to one year earlier. In the capital city region the drop was 3.6 percent.
Prices for old properties fell by 2.3 percent in the third quarter. Roope Ohlsbom, an economist at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, said that the slow property market is hindering construction firms’ prospects.
They are unable to begin newer projects while capital remains tied up in unsolved newbuild properties.
“The statistics already show signs of a housing market revival, but there’s still a long way to go before it happens,” said Ohlsbom.
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