According to Statistics Finland, rents for subsidized dwellings rose in most of Finland in April-June compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.
Rents rose an average of 0.9 percent during that period across the country.
Timo Metsola, The chairman of the board of Vuokraturva ‘s rental house, attributed the growth to the increase in demand, saying that competition was clearly intensified for the most sought – after properties.
The sharp rise in house rents in April-June was in Turku, where costs rose by 1.6 per cent and the city of Tampere by 1.4 per cent.
In the Greater Helsinki area, rents rose by 0.9 per cent.
Of the country’s municipal centers, the city of Mikkeli was the only area where rents fell.
Still the most expensive in the Helsinki area
The Numerical Discharge Agency reports that the median rent for a studio apartment in the center of Helsinki was 809 euros per month, compared to 583 euros in the center of Tampere and 515 euros in the center of Oulu.
Larger apartments, such as three-room apartments, cost an average of 1,634 euros in the center of Helsinki, 1,070 euros in Tampere and 940 euros in Oulu.
Metsola said new students began looking for housing toward the end of July, but noted that there were fewer young steady hunters this summer than there were years before the coronavirus crisis.
"The pandemic has increased distance learning, and only a few schools are planning personal tuition at the start of the school year this fall," he said, explaining that fewer new students are starting to be hired compared to pre-crisis years.
Source: The Nordic Page