Operating environment

General operating environment

In Europe, the economic situation improved slightly during the review period. The US economy developed favourably, as expected. The US economy developed favourably, as expected. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit), and the related process may slow down economic growth in Europe.

In Finland, economic development continued to be subdued. Export and industrial production have not picked up to a significant degree. The confidence of households and companies is weak. This was seen in, for example, demand for owner-occupied apartments and construction investments.

According to Statistics Finland, the prices of old apartments in apartment blocks and row houses rose somewhat throughout the country. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, the year-on-year increase in prices was higher than in other parts of the country.

Industry operating environment

Demand for rental housing remained high. Business was good for small rental apartments and newly constructed locations, particularly in growth centres. There was still demand for new rental apartments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

New construction clearly focused on privately financed rental apartments. There were no noticeable changes in the price level of either new construction or renovations. The market situation for the construction of owner-occupied apartments enabled better-than-average implementation of negotiated contracts for rental housing development. Continuing urbanisation can be seen in the growing number of apartment blocks being built in growth centres.

The slowness of the zoning process and a lack of suitable plots, particularly in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, made it harder to launch the construction of new rental apartments.