New residences sell poorly in Greater Helsinki area
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The southern city of Espoo is currently plagued with a plethora of unsold dwellings on new residential estates. In the Fallåker area, for instance, only a fraction of the residences that were completed in the autumn have found buyers. Of the 20 new dwellings, 17 remain unoccupied. Also in the Kauklahti Housing Fair area many residences remain empty.
The selling of new residences has slowed down sharply in the entire capital area, the professional construction weekly Rakennuslehti reports. A market report commissioned by the magazine claims that towards the end of 2006 there was a decline of 20 per cent in the selling of residences compared to a year earlier.
At the end of October there were 760 new residences available in Espoo. The current figure is over a thousand. The biggest hindrance to successful sales seems to be the pricing policy. For example in Kauklahti and Fallåker the asking prices are in places well over EUR 3,000 per square metre, despite the fact that these areas are quite far from central Helsinki.
The prices compare unfavourably with what is being asked for pre-owned properties, for instance in Espoo suburbs where the level of services is more up to what people expect. New estates, often on greenfield sites, have the drawback of the houses appearing before the local services get into gear.
"A couple of years ago there were hardly any unsold residences in new buildings. Now there are unsold flats in nearly all new residential estates", laments project manager Seppo Kallio from the City of Espoo complains.
"Additions to existing residential complexes are easier to market than buildings in totally new areas."
Large apartments of over one hundred square metres in size are selling particularly poorly at the moment. Smaller flats in town and city centres, as well as detached houses, still sell moderately well.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 5.1.2007 - TODAY |
 New residences sell poorly in Greater Helsinki area
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