No shortage of student housing in Helsinki region

New production, low interest rates, and free housing market ease situation

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With the beginning of the spring term of the academic year, there are many student apartments available in the Helsinki region.
      "Offers for a flat come rather quickly, unless someone wants a place in a specific building, or if the application contains other limiting factors", says Anne Mantila of the Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region (HOAS).
      The HOAS website has information on available dwellings of different types in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.
      Queues are generally longest in the early autumn, as new students start looking for a place to stay. However, in recent years the situation has eased considerably.
      There is also a slight peak in demand at the beginning of each spring term, but the situation is usually much easier than in the autumn. The greatest number of vacant student apartments become available between February and April.
     
Reasons for the improved situation include the greater availability of rental housing in general, as well as the completion of construction of student housing in Espoo. In addition, low interest rates for housing loans have influenced demand for rental accommodation, and more students are buying their own apartments.
      Changes in demands for living comfort are also reflected in student housing. Large apartments with bedrooms for several students and common kitchens and living rooms have not been built in several years. Many apartments for three students have been renovated, turning them into flats for two, with a common kitchen.
      Mantila says that the trend reflects an overall increase in living space in Finnish homes.
      The higher standards are also raising rents. For instance, a furnished HOAS apartment for two in the centre of Helsinki goes for EUR 491 a month, while a room in a traditional apartment for three in the Koivukylä neighbourhood of Vantaa costs EUR 176 a month.
      More than half of the apartments offered by HOAS fall under the EUR 252 maximum for state student grants.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Student housing shortage eases this year (4.8.2005)

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