Helsinki struggles to find builders for wooden apartment blocks

Helsinki’s plans to expand wooden apartment construction have stalled due to high costs and a lack of contractors, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.

The city has found that new wooden housing projects are either receiving no bids from builders or the proposals are too expensive to implement. A cost analysis commissioned by Helsinki shows that wooden construction is 10–15 percent more expensive than traditional methods.

Efforts to make wooden building more attractive—such as reducing land prices for designated plots—have failed to resolve the issue. As a result, the city is now drafting new zoning plans to be “climate-neutral,” allowing materials other than wood to meet emissions targets.

“Puurakentaminen on kaikkien etu”
Despite the challenges, city officials remain committed to wood as the best material for low-carbon construction. “Wood stores carbon and has a strong lifecycle from start to finish,” said Marja Piimies, Helsinki’s zoning director. She noted that economic downturns and a slumping housing market have worsened the slowdown but expressed optimism for the future: “Once the market stabilizes, things will improve.”

Flexibility in new projects
Some areas, like Kuninkaantammi and Myllypuro, were originally zoned exclusively for wooden buildings. Now, the city is permitting hybrid solutions—such as concrete frames with wooden facades—to keep projects viable. In Honkasuo, where a planned wooden apartment block received no bids, officials may also adopt a more flexible approach.

Helsinki aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, with low-carbon construction playing a key role alongside clean energy and reduced traffic emissions.