Moving to Finland Forums

HOUSING IN FINLAND

GENERAL

Housing in Finland is generally new or recent, and of good quality, with all modern conveniences. Home ownership rates are high. Both housing projects and individual homes tend to be small-scale by international standards.

Finland has an adequate number of homes overall: at the end of 2003 there were about 500 housing units per 1,000 inhabitants. Housing markets are clearly differentiated in different parts of the country, however.

Helsinki, and to a lesser extent certain other growth centres, are suffering from housing shortages, high housing prices and high rents, while in most municipalities the housing market is balanced, or there may even be an oversupply.

Small-scale housing dominant

The most common residential buildings are blocks of flats (accounting for 44 % of all homes in 2003) and detached houses (40 %). Terraced “row housesâ€