Record differences in housing prices in different parts of Helsinki
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Differences in the price of apartments in different parts of Helsinki have reached record levels.
Differences in housing prices began to increase after the recession of the early 1990s, and a study by the Helsinki City Information Centre indicates that the trend seems to be continuing.
In the cheapest areas, Kontula, Myllypuro, and Pihlajamäki in the east of the city, the prices of apartments in real terms are even cheaper than they were in the 1960s.
"In these suburbs a housing discount is going on, because people’s income levels are now significantly higher than they were three decades ago", say Professor Mari Vaattovaara of the University of Helsinki and researcher Henrik Lönnqvist of the Helsinki City Information Centre.
The sharpest increases in prices per square metre have been in the centre of Helsinki and on Katajanokka, the small headland close to the South Harbour. In 2001, housing in those areas was three times as expensive as in the cheaper suburbs.
However, the researchers emphasise that the impression that Helsinki is an expensive region as a whole is a misconception.
Previously housing prices declined in direct proportion to the distance from the centre of the city. This is no longer the case: prices have shot up west of the centre, as well as across the city line in Eastern Espoo, where many high-tech companies have set up shop, and where many of their employees also want to live.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 12.10.2004 - TODAY |
 Record differences in housing prices in different parts of Helsinki |
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