More Finns Consider Renting Instead of Owning

Interest in rental housing has risen sharply in Finland in 2026. Search activity on major housing platform Vuokraovi increased 45% between January and July, while 28% of surveyed rental seekers currently live in owner-occupied housing, up from 23% in 2024. The shift comes as prices of existing homes continue to fall, private-sector rents are virtually flat and the average interest rate on newly drawn housing loans has climbed to 3.28%.

Homeowners Are Increasingly Searching for Rental Homes

Among Vuokraovi users currently looking for rental accommodation, 28% live in an owner-occupied home. The figure was 23% two years earlier.

Search activity on the platform increased 45% between January and July 2026. SATO, one of Finland’s largest residential landlords, also recorded an 8% year-on-year increase in prospective tenants attending apartment viewings during the same period.

The figures should not be extrapolated to Finland’s entire population. The survey was conducted between May 15 and June 4 as a pop-up questionnaire on Vuokraovi.com. A total of 1,441 respondents were randomly invited from among website visitors, with the corresponding 2024 survey used for comparison. Separate data on housing preferences came from Vuokraovi search queries and property views on SATO’s platform between January and July.

Alma Media describes the figures as evidence of growing interest in the flexibility of renting, but the survey primarily measures the behaviour of people already using rental-housing services rather than the Finnish housing market as a whole.

Finnish Home Prices Continue to Fall

The rise in rental interest coincides with another decline in existing-home prices. In July 2026, prices of old dwellings in housing companies were 3.4% lower than a year earlier and 0.3% lower than in June.

Prices fell 3.9% across Finland’s six largest cities and 2.5% outside them. Greater Helsinki recorded an annual decline of 3.6% and a monthly fall of 1%.

Among large cities, the steepest annual declines were recorded in Turku at 6.4% and Vantaa at 6.2%. Nationwide, prices of apartments in blocks of flats fell 4.4%, while terraced homes declined 1%.

Transaction volumes also weakened. The number of old apartments and terraced homes sold through real-estate agents in July was 9.5% lower than a year earlier.

Falling prices have two opposing effects on potential buyers. They make entering the market cheaper but can also encourage households to postpone purchases if they expect values to fall further.

Rental housing is already particularly common among younger households. At the end of 2024, 1.03 million Finnish households lived in rented homes, around 10,000 more than a year earlier. About 3.7 million people lived in owner-occupied housing and 1.6 million in rented housing. Among households whose oldest member was under 30, 83% rented their home. The figure was 36% for those aged 30–59 and 21% for households aged 60 and over. The share of rental households increased by five percentage points over the decade to 2024, according to Statistics Finland.

Private Rents Are Almost Flat

The sharp increase in rental searches has not produced a comparable rise in prices. Non-subsidised rents across Finland increased only 0.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2026.

In Greater Helsinki, rents fell 0.3%, while they increased 0.4% elsewhere in Finland. Vantaa recorded a 1.2% decline, Kerava 1.6% and Porvoo 1.9%.

Rovaniemi recorded the strongest increase among the cities highlighted in the official figures, at 2%. Rents rose 1.3% in Vaasa and 1.1% in Joensuu.

Non-subsidised rents for one-room flats in Greater Helsinki declined 0.2%. Outside the capital region they increased 0.6%.

Government-subsidised housing followed a different pattern, with rents rising 2% in Greater Helsinki and 1.7% elsewhere in Finland.

For tenants, the figures mean that rapidly increasing search activity has not yet translated into rapidly increasing housing costs. Supply remains sufficient to restrain rents in much of the market.

Mortgage Rates Have Risen Again

Finnish mortgage financing remains substantially cheaper than at the 2023–2024 peak, but borrowing costs have risen during 2026.

The average interest rate on newly drawn housing loans reached 3.28% in July, compared with 2.74% a year earlier. In January 2026 it stood at 2.84%.

Households drew about €1.2 billion in new housing loans in July, 6% less than a year earlier and 15% below the average volume usually recorded in July.

Repayment periods have also lengthened sharply. The average maturity of new housing loans approached 25 years, the longest in the history of the statistics. For owner-occupied housing loans specifically, it reached 25 years and three months, compared with 23 years and ten months in May.

More than 16% of new owner-occupied housing loans had maturities of over 30 years in July, up from 6% in May. The most common maturity was 24–25 years, accounting for 30% of new loans.

The change followed an increase in the maximum housing-loan maturity from 30 years to 40 years at the beginning of June. The Bank of Finland says the average maturity of housing loans has lengthened by more than two years since the start of 2026.

Longer maturities reduce monthly payments but extend the period over which interest is paid and, all else being equal, increase the total interest cost of the loan.

Renting Is Already Common in Finland’s Largest Cities

The latest survey does not show a mass abandonment of homeownership. Owner-occupied housing remains the dominant tenure for the Finnish population as a whole.

The structure of the market has nevertheless been changing gradually. More than half of all rental households are located in Finland’s ten largest cities, and renting is particularly common among younger people and single-person households.

For part of the urban population, renting is therefore no longer simply a temporary stage before purchasing a home. It can be a longer-term housing choice for people who value mobility, do not want mortgage debt or do not want to bear the risk of changes in property values.

The trade-off has become more visible in the current market. Buyers can acquire homes at lower prices than several years ago but face the possibility of further declines. Renters do not build housing equity but can move without first selling a property and are not directly exposed to mortgage-rate changes.

Helsinki Renters Search for Sea Views

Price and location remain the main criteria for rental-home searches, but preferences vary substantially between cities.

In Helsinki, searches for homes with a sea view or bathtub stand out. In Tampere, renovated apartments are unusually prominent. In Turku, renters frequently search for specific districts and locations, including Herttuankulma, Portsa, Satama and Kauppatori.

Transport links remain another important factor, with rail connections particularly prominent in searches in Helsinki and Tampere.

Preferences also differ by age. People under 30 place comparatively high importance on kitchens and bathrooms. Among people aged 60 and over, balconies and lifts are significantly more important.

The growth in overall rental demand will therefore not benefit all properties equally. Location, condition and building features remain important when tenants have a broad choice of available homes.

Digital Lease Agreements Have Become the Preferred Option

Finland’s rental market is also becoming more digital. Around 63% of survey respondents prefer to sign their tenancy agreement electronically, while 27% prefer to complete the paperwork in person.

About 33% prefer to communicate with their landlord by phone or face to face, while 24% favour those channels for reporting faults in their home.

The strongest preference for digital services was found not among respondents under 30 but among the 40–49 age group. Demand for personal service increases progressively with age.

For large landlords, management quality is therefore becoming another competitive factor. When tenants have a wide choice of apartments, repair times, communication and the handling of everyday problems can matter alongside rent and location.

The Rent-or-Buy Decision Has Become Less Clear

Finland’s housing market is currently sending conflicting signals. Falling prices make purchases cheaper, but continuing declines also make households more cautious about committing capital to residential property.

Private rents are barely increasing and have even fallen slightly in Greater Helsinki. Mortgage rates, meanwhile, are higher than they were a year ago, and a growing share of borrowers are taking loans with maturities of more than 30 years.

Comparing rent with a monthly mortgage payment is therefore not enough to determine which option costs less. Buyers must also consider the down payment, transaction expenses, interest costs, expected ownership period and potential changes in the property’s value. Tenants face different risks, including future rent increases and the absence of equity accumulation.

As International Investment experts report, the increase in the share of homeowners among people searching for rentals is notable, but the 28% figure should not be read as evidence that Finns are abandoning homeownership on a large scale. The survey was conducted among visitors to a specialist rental platform and therefore already focuses on people considering rented housing. The broader signal comes from several indicators moving at the same time: sale prices are still falling, private rents are almost flat and new mortgage loans are more expensive than a year ago. While rental supply remains ample, stronger search activity alone is unlikely to produce an equally rapid increase in rents.

FAQ: Renting and Buying Property in Finland

Are Finns moving from homeownership to renting?

Among surveyed Vuokraovi users looking for a rental home, 28% currently live in owner-occupied housing, compared with 23% in 2024. The result applies to the platform’s rental seekers and does not represent the share of all Finnish homeowners planning to become tenants.

How much has rental interest increased?

Search activity on Vuokraovi.com rose 45% between January and July 2026. SATO also recorded 8% more prospective tenants attending viewings than a year earlier.

Are rents increasing in Finland?

Only marginally. Non-subsidised rents increased 0.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2026 and fell 0.3% in Greater Helsinki.

What is happening to Finnish home prices?

Prices of old dwellings in housing companies fell 3.4% year on year in July 2026. Greater Helsinki recorded a 3.6% decline.

What is the current mortgage rate in Finland?

The average interest rate on newly drawn housing loans was 3.28% in July 2026, compared with 2.74% a year earlier.

How long are Finnish mortgages?

The average maturity of new housing loans is now close to 25 years. For owner-occupied housing loans it reached 25 years and three months in July, while more than 16% of new loans had maturities exceeding 30 years.

How many people rent homes in Finland?

At the end of 2024, around 1.6 million people, representing 1.03 million households, lived in rented housing.

Who is most likely to rent in Finland?

Renting is most common among younger households. In 2024, 83% of households whose oldest member was under 30 lived in rented accommodation.

Is it currently cheaper to rent or buy in Finland?

There is no single answer. The calculation depends on the city, property price, rent, down payment, mortgage rate, expected length of stay and future movements in residential property prices.