In January, the prices of old shared apartments fell by more than five percent from the previous year. According to experts, housing sales were quieter than expected at the turn of the year due to the reforms made to the transfer tax.
The old ones housing prices continued to fall throughout the country in January.
According to the preliminary data published by Statistics Finland on Tuesday, the prices of old share housing fell in January across the country by 5.6 percent from January of last year.
Compared to December, prices fell by 2.9 percent.
Compared to January of last year, the prices of old apartments fell by 6.7 percent in the six largest cities.
Apartment prices fell the most in Tampere, where the decrease was 10.5 percent. In Vantaa, prices fell by 9.6 percent and in Helsinki by 7.0 percent.
According to Statistics Finland, there were 6.0 percent fewer sales of old apartments and townhouses in January than a year earlier.
Finland Chief Economist for Entrepreneurs Juhana Brotherus describes the apartment sale as “frozen on scaffolding” in January, when, due to the reform of the transfer tax, first-time home buyers scheduled their apartment sale for half of last year.
“The prices also turned to a clear decrease after the slight increase seen after October,” says Brotherus in the announcement.
You have had to pay the capital transfer tax on buying your first home since the turn of the year. In the past, the buyer of a first home did not have to pay transfer tax if certain conditions were met.
At the same time, the transfer tax on real estate was reduced from four to three percent, and the transfer tax on housing and real estate shares from two percent to 1.5 percent.
Chief economist of Suomen Hypoteekkiyhdistys Hypo, which specializes in mortgage lending Juho Keskinen also says that the changes in the transfer tax were, as expected, visible in housing sales on both sides of the turn of the year.
“Many first-time home buyers timed their sales to last year to avoid the tax, which accordingly made a dent in the January sales. When January’s sales figures are historically low, the direction of housing sales in the future can really only be upward,” he says in the press release.
Finland According to entrepreneurs Brotherus, the housing trade is especially slowed down by high interest rates, which cut demand and reduce the desire to buy both investors and those looking for their own home.
“At the same time, the jam can be seen between the buyers’ ears. Only less than 15 percent of households consider the time to be favorable for borrowing, while before more than half of Finns were brave about borrowing,” he says in the announcement.
“Shops don’t start until the mood between the ears changes, but once the mood changes, you can quickly see traffic jams on apartment screens. However, prices won’t jump right away, because there are plenty of unsold new and old apartments waiting for a more favorable time.”
Brotherus anticipates that the “dead ends” of the housing trade will only open when the Euribor rates drop below three percent, which he expects to happen at the end of 2024.