Russians again bought record number of Finnish properties

Dozens of Finnish holiday properties sold on to other Russians

print this

The economic crisis that is afflicting Russia just as much as elsewhere has apparently not diminished the Russians’ interest in holiday homes and lakeside properties in Finland.
      Last year a record number of Finnish properties, 765 in all, were bought by Russian buyers. The number was significantly higher than the previous year’s 620 houses and plots.
     
The completed transactions were worth EUR 95 million. The figures emerge from the preliminary report requested from the National Land Survey of Finland by the Regional Council of Etelä-Savo (Southern Savo).
      Most deals, 275 in all, were made in Southern Savo. In Southern Karelia Russian buyers bought 211 properties.
      In the city of Savonlinna and in the adjacent Savonranta, which was merged with the city at the turn of the year, 73 properties in all were acquired by Russian buyers. Money-wise this translates to EUR 7.2 million.
      “That is not a small amount”, says Etelä-Savo Regional Council Executive Director Matti Viialainen.
     
The fading of the economic growth and the depreciation of the rouble was believed to have an adverse effect on the property business. Hence the end-of-year result has taken the Regional Council Executive Director by surprise.
      “Some small slippage was observed towards the end of the year, but from the year’s total figures one can see that the demand has been high”, Viialainen says.
     
The properties and holiday cottages are also sold on. According to the National Land Survey of Finland, in around 50 of the cases the deal was made among the Russians.
      When compared against the entire number of Finnish properties owned by Russians, last year’s figures are still quite small. National Land Survey of Finland expert Juhani Väänänen estimates that around 5,000 properties in Finland are already owned by Russians.
      “There was nothing exceptional about last year’s transactions. They took place between individuals, not businesses”, Väänänen concludes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Russian investors´ eagerness to invest in Finnish property is losing steam (17.11.2008)

Links:
  Regional Council of Etelä-Savo

Helsingin Sanomat