Kainuu bucks nationwide fall in home sales

Kainuu was the only region in Finland where sales of old apartment and detached houses did not fall in January to July compared with the same period last year, Yle reports, citing housing market statistics from the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies.

The number of sales remained at last year’s level, with just one more home sold. Sales fell by 7.2 percent in Lapland and by 20.4 percent in Central Ostrobothnia, the largest decline among the regions.

Average selling times for old detached houses and apartments in apartment buildings fell below 100 days in Kainuu and North Karelia. The figure was last below 100 days in 2023, in Southwest Finland.

In Kainuu, the average price per square metre for apartments in apartment buildings fell by a quarter in January to July from last year’s average. The average price of terraced homes rose by 13 percent.

“There has been positive news in recent months overall. Kainuu would not have been among the first guesses for where the selling time would fall below 100 days,” said Tuomas Viljamaa, managing director of the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies, according to Yle.

Viljamaa said detached-house prices in the cities of Kajaani and Joensuu had even risen over the past decade. During the same period, prices in Imatra and Varkaus had fallen considerably.

“In recent years, there has even been talk of new growth in Kainuu. Jobs and investments have come to the region, along with data centre projects and positive prospects for the forest industry,” Viljamaa said.