Lempäälä housing fair draws 90,000 visitors, misses target

The housing fair in Lempäälä attracted between 85,000 and 90,000 visitors before closing on Sunday, according to Yle. The figure fell short of the 100,000 target but was well above last year’s event in Oulu, which drew about 66,000 people.

Joran Hasenson, chief executive of the housing fair, said he was very satisfied with the outcome. He said queues had formed at times but were not excessive, and that visitor satisfaction had remained high.

Hasenson attributed the shortfall partly to the weak state of the construction industry. Building of detached, semi-detached and terraced homes is at its lowest level in 40 years, he said.

“There have been more people spending a summer day and looking for interior design ideas, but fewer builders,” Hasenson said.

He noted that consumer confidence is at its highest level in four years and that sales figures reported by house manufacturers are beginning to rise. However, this has not yet affected construction starts because of a delay between sales and the beginning of building work.

An adult ticket to the fair cost nearly 40 euros. Hasenson said ticket prices were based on several factors, including the need to avoid excessively long queues and to keep visitor numbers within the capacity of the fairgrounds.

Moderate sizes and energy efficiency on display

According to Hasenson, the Lempäälä fair reflected attainable housing aspirations. The detached houses, semi-detached homes and apartment buildings on display were aimed at dreams that could be within reach of ordinary working people, he said.

The average size of the fair homes was more than 100 square metres, but there were few exceptionally large properties. Hasenson said the size of a home was no longer the defining factor, with ease of everyday life becoming more important.

Energy efficiency and ecological considerations were also reflected in the moderate size of the homes, he said.

Next year’s fair will be held in Siuntio

Next summer’s housing fair will be held at Pikkala Rock Resort in Siuntio. Hasenson said visitors would be interested in both leisure homes and year-round living. Some of the houses are expected to look grand, but he said the trends shown there would eventually spread to other types of construction.

Dismantling of the fairgrounds in Lempäälä began on Sunday evening. Any marks left by visitors, including possible painting needs, will be dealt with, and Hasenson estimated that all traces of the fair would be gone within a month.

Residents were allowed to move into their new homes immediately after the fair, with at least some doing so on Sunday evening.