Prices of homes up by as much as 70 per cent in Helsinki in six years

Average rise for whole city is 45%

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Prices per square metre of apartments in Helsinki rose by about 45 per cent on average from 2000 to 2006.
      The rise was sharpest in the Pikku Huopalahti and Länsi-Pasila areas, where prices have gone up by about 70 per cent. In Malminkartano, the increase has been more than 50 per cent.
      The prices in Pikku Huopalahti are about average for the Finnish capital, but apartments in Länsi-Pasila and Malminkartano are still cheaper than the city average.
      "In areas where the prices have risen the most there are many HITAS-financed apartments", notes researcher Maija Vihavainen of the Helsinki City Information Centre.
      HITAS is a price regulation system developed by the City of Helsinki in the 1970s. The aim was to make affordable owned housing available to city residents.
      The resale prices of HITAS homes surged in 2004, when the market index was introduced as a basis for their price control.
      Merja Siivonen regional manager for the real estate company Huoneistokeskus, says that the sharpest price rise in recent years has been in upmarket neighbourhoods such as Eira and Ullanlinna. The rise has also been relatively strong in the eastern suburb of Vuosaari.
      Siivonen notes that good transport connections, and versatile services, which are available in several languages attract new residents to Vuosaari.
     
The most recent figures show that the rise continued in 2006. According to figures put out by the Helsinki City Information Centre on Monday, the average price rise for a square metre of living space was 10.5 per cent.
      There were considerable differences between areas. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive areas for the purchase price of an apartment was nearly EUR 3,000 per square metre.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Prices of dwellings continue to rise (30.7.2007)
  Housing prices keep on rising (2.5.2007)
  Helsinki housing prices reach levels equivalent to pre-recession bubble (5.9.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat