OP Uusimaa The housing market has significantly picked up in Uusimaa and especially in the surrounding municipalities
Since June, market rates have been decreasing rapidly, and due to the decrease, many home loan borrowers have enjoyed an easier daily life. The rate decrease has also significantly revitalised the housing market in Uusimaa. The number of properties for sale and the sales volume have increased, and there are more home loan applications than last year.
The number of home loan applications in Uusimaa increased significantly from July to September: according to the customer data of OP Uusimaa, the number of home loan applications has grown 15 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
According to the statistics of OP Uusimaa, the share of loans granted for buy-to-let homes has grown slightly this year.
In loans granted in from January to September, the emphasis is on smaller loan amounts of under 200,000 and under 100,000 euros compared to the corresponding period last year.
“People in Uusimaa have been significantly more cautious due to the uncertain economic situations and high interest rates and have wisely adapted their finances to this,” says Riikka Kangas.
The customers of OP Uusimaa have repaid their loans diligently. Requests for changing the repayment plan have remained at a low level all the time, for example. At present, we are receiving fewer of them than on average.
However, the rise in unemployment is also reflected in insurance compensations based on unemployment. The amount of compensation paid to customers of OP Uusimaa from January to August increased by 70 per cent from the same period last year.
It is a good time to buy an apartment in Uusimaa
The number of properties listed for sale in Uusimaa has grown significantly from the end of June to the beginning of September according to Oikotie's statistics. The number of properties has increased by 13 per cent in Hyvinkää and 9 per cent in Järvenpää and Kerava, for example. The corresponding increase is 4 per cent in Helsinki.
According to the statistics of the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies (KVKL), the apartment sales volume* is also on the increase in Uusimaa and has already surpassed last year's level. The increase of the period between January and September was 4 per cent In the surrounding municipalities and 2 per cent in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area compared to the corresponding period last year.
The biggest increases in sales volume are in Hyvinkää (25%), Tuusula (18%), Sipoo (11%) and Porvoo (8%). In Espoo, the sales volumes have grown by 6 per cent, and in Helsinki by 2 per cent. Vantaa is the only municipality in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area where the volume of sales has gone down (-4%).
- “For the recovery of the housing market of Finland as a whole, it is significant that there is positive growth in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area sales volume compared to last year,” says Satu Astala, Managing Director of OP Koti Uusimaa.
In particular, there is demand for family apartments that are in good condition, detached houses with yards, apartments built in the 2000s and apartments that have undergone energy renovations.