Helsinki Tops Property Ranking for Foreign Investors

Helsinki has taken first place among 150 cities in Investment Migration Insider’s Global Property Scoreboard for foreign residential investors. The Finnish capital scored 34 points and ranked ahead of Lima and Abu Dhabi. Its position reflects the deep housing correction since 2022, relatively straightforward access to apartments for foreign buyers, the euro and population growth. The market itself has not yet entered a clear recovery: prices are still falling, private rents remain weak, and taxes and housing-company liabilities can materially reduce investment returns.

Helsinki ranks first among 150 cities

The Global Property Scoreboard measures the long-term attractiveness of residential markets to international investors. Investment Migration Insider uses 42 indicators grouped into seven categories. Property fundamentals carry 30% of the score, demand 20%, while access, costs, governance, resilience and macroeconomic conditions each account for 10%.

Helsinki scored 34 points and ranked first globally. Stockholm placed 16th with 23 points, Reykjavik 56th with 15, Oslo 78th with 10 and Copenhagen 82nd with 9. The methodology rewards Helsinki for the combination of a relatively low entry point after its housing correction, easy market access and positive migration. It also characterises the city more as a long-term appreciation market than a high-income investment.

The Scoreboard is a proprietary analytical product rather than an official investment ranking, and its result depends on the indicators selected and the weights assigned to them.

Helsinki home prices are still falling

Official figures show that the correction has not clearly ended.

Prices of old dwellings in housing companies in Helsinki fell 4.3% year on year in the second quarter of 2026. The decline was 4.2% across Greater Helsinki and 3.9% nationally.

Quarter on quarter, prices across Finland were broadly flat, rising 0.1%. The pace of the correction has therefore slowed considerably, but annual price changes remain negative.

This also corrects an important detail in the original IMI analysis: the 3.9% decline referred to Finland as a whole. The fall in Helsinki itself was larger at 4.3%.

In June, prices of old dwellings in Helsinki were 4.4% lower than a year earlier. Among Finland’s largest cities, only Turku recorded a steeper decline.

For investors, lower prices create a cheaper entry point than at the previous peak, but they do not establish that the market has already reached its bottom.

Finnish mortgages remain closely linked to Euribor

The structure of Finland’s mortgage market helps explain the depth of the housing correction.

In January 2026, 95% of the outstanding housing-loan stock used Euribor as its reference rate. Only 5% was fixed-rate or linked to banks’ own reference rates.

Euribor was also used for 94% of new housing loans. Their average interest rate stood at 2.84%, down from 3.20% a year earlier. New loans linked to three-month Euribor averaged 2.53%, six-month Euribor loans 2.73%, and those linked to 12-month Euribor 2.90%.

This structure means changes in European interest rates are transmitted relatively quickly to Finnish households. Rising Euribor weakened affordability during the downturn, while lower rates can reduce borrowers’ costs comparatively quickly.

Foreign capital has returned to Finland

International investor activity increased significantly in 2025. Finnish property transaction volume reached almost €4.4 billion, compared with less than €2.3 billion in 2024.

Foreign investors acquired around €2.6 billion of property and accounted for 60% of total transaction volume. Their acquisitions had been approximately €1 billion a year earlier. Most foreign capital came from other Nordic countries.

These figures relate to the professional investment market, including large properties and portfolio transactions, and should not be treated as data on individual foreign apartment buyers.

The total professionally owned Finnish investment-property market was valued at €96.8 billion at the end of 2025. Residential property was the largest sector at almost €34 billion, or 35% of the market. Residential property produced a total return of 3.3% during the year.

Foreign investors account for almost half of housing activity

Professional residential investment volume was approximately €90 million in the second quarter of 2026 after an exceptionally strong first quarter. First-half volume reached €1.4 billion, more than double the level a year earlier.

Cross-border capital represented 48% of second-quarter investment, while 94% of activity was concentrated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Prime residential yields in the metropolitan region moved 10 basis points higher to 4.5%.

The 4.5% figure is an institutional valuation measure for high-quality residential assets and portfolios. It should not be treated as the expected return on an individual apartment.

Helsinki’s population is growing rapidly

Demographics remain one of the stronger arguments for the residential market.

Helsinki had 684,018 residents at the end of 2024 and is expected to exceed 700,000 in 2026. Population growth is projected at roughly 9,000 people a year over the next few years.

Migration, particularly immigration from abroad, is a major source of the increase. The latest projection puts Helsinki at around 739,600 residents in 2030, approximately 822,000 in 2040 and more than one million by 2070.

For housing investors, the near-term growth figures are more relevant than the very long-term projection. Continued population gains can support rental demand if residential construction remains subdued.

Private rents remain weak

Population growth has not yet translated into strong rent increases.

Non-subsidised rents in Greater Helsinki were 0.3% lower year on year in the second quarter of 2026, while they increased 0.4% across the rest of Finland.

Non-subsidised one-room rents in Greater Helsinki declined 0.2%. Government-subsidised rents followed a different path and increased 2% in the metropolitan region.

The institutional market shows a similar pattern. KTI reported that residential rents in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area declined by an average 0.9% in 2025, although occupancy improved to 93.4% by December. New rental development is now concentrated mainly in the subsidised sector, where construction volumes are also expected to fall in 2026.

Investors therefore cannot assume rapid rental growth when modelling current acquisitions.

Foreigners can usually buy Helsinki apartments without a permit

Most Finnish apartments are structured differently from directly owned real estate in many other countries.

A buyer generally purchases shares in a housing company, or asunto-osakeyhtiö. Those shares grant the right to possess a specific apartment, while the company owns the building and land.

Some buyers from outside the European Union and European Economic Area require permission from Finland’s Ministry of Defence when acquiring real estate directly, such as land or a detached house on its own plot. The permit requirement does not apply to housing-company shares, which account for most ordinary urban apartments.

Buying an apartment does not itself provide a right of residence in Finland.

Apartment purchases carry a 1.5% transfer tax

A buyer of housing-company shares pays transfer tax at a rate of 1.5%. The taxable amount includes both the cash price paid for the shares and any unpaid housing-company loan allocated to the apartment.

If the purchase price is €200,000 and the apartment carries €50,000 of housing-company debt, the tax is calculated on €250,000. Direct acquisitions of real estate, such as a house together with its land, are generally taxed at 3%.

This distinction is particularly important in newer developments, where housing-company debt can represent a substantial portion of the debt-free purchase price.

Rental income can be taxed at 34%

Rental income is treated as capital income in Finland. The tax rate is 30% on annual capital income up to €30,000 and 34% on the portion above that threshold.

Tax applies to net rental income rather than gross receipts. Eligible expenses, including certain housing-company charges and costs incurred in finding tenants, can be deducted.

Taxable gains from the sale of an investment property are subject to the same 30% and 34% capital-income rates.

Gross rental yields can therefore differ materially from the return that remains after tax and operating costs.

Housing-company debt can change the investment case

Housing-company liabilities are one of the features international buyers need to examine closely.

A building can carry its own debt, with a portion allocated to each apartment. The owner can typically repay that share or service it through monthly housing-company charges.

This is why Finnish listings distinguish between the cash purchase price and the debt-free price, or velaton hinta. The latter includes the apartment’s share of housing-company debt.

Major renovations can create another substantial liability. Pipe replacement, facades, roofs and building systems are funded by shareholders and can add tens of thousands of euros to the cost of owning an older apartment.

An investor therefore needs to examine the housing company’s accounts, outstanding loans, monthly charges and long-term renovation plan rather than relying on the apartment price alone.

Helsinki offices remain much weaker than housing

The IMI ranking concerns residential property and should not be extended to the entire Helsinki real estate market.

Finnish office investment volume was €122 million in the second quarter of 2026. The trailing 12-month total was €357 million, down 24% year on year, and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area accounted for 47% of quarterly activity.

Prime Helsinki CBD office yields remained at 5.5%, while Pasila, Ruoholahti and Keilaniemi stood at 6.25%. Investment demand remained concentrated on prime assets, with much weaker demand for the rest of the office market.

Helsinki’s residential and office sectors are therefore at distinctly different stages of recovery.

As International Investment experts report, Helsinki’s first place in the IMI ranking is best understood as an argument about entry timing after a deep housing correction. The city has several clear advantages: population growth, a liquid market, the euro, relatively straightforward foreign access to apartments and renewed international investment activity. The weakness is current cash flow: prices are still declining, market rents are broadly flat, and taxes, housing-company charges and future renovations can materially reduce returns. Helsinki’s investment case therefore depends more on the individual asset and holding period than its number-one ranking alone suggests.

FAQ: Helsinki property for foreign investors

Why did Helsinki rank first?

The Global Property Scoreboard uses 42 indicators covering property fundamentals, demand, foreign-buyer access, costs, governance, resilience and macroeconomic conditions. Helsinki scored 34 points and ranked first among 150 cities.

Are Helsinki apartment prices still falling?

Yes. Prices of old dwellings in housing companies in Helsinki were 4.3% lower year on year in the second quarter of 2026.

Are Helsinki rents rising?

Not materially. Non-subsidised rents in Greater Helsinki were 0.3% lower year on year in the second quarter.

Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Helsinki?

Most ordinary apartments are purchased as housing-company shares. These generally do not require a Ministry of Defence permit.

When is a property-purchase permit required?

Some buyers from outside the EU and EEA need permission when purchasing real estate directly, such as land or a detached house with its own plot.

What tax applies when buying an apartment?

Transfer tax on housing-company shares is 1.5%. The taxable base includes the apartment’s allocated share of housing-company debt.

How is rental income taxed?

Net rental income is taxed as capital income at 30% up to €30,000 and 34% on the portion above that level.

What is housing-company debt?

It is borrowing taken out by the housing company, part of which may be allocated to an individual apartment. It increases the apartment’s effective purchase cost and may raise monthly charges.

Are foreign investors returning to Finland?

Yes. Foreign investors accounted for 60% of Finnish property transaction volume in 2025 and 48% of professional residential investment in the second quarter of 2026.

What are residential yields in Helsinki?

CBRE put the prime institutional residential yield in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area at 4.5% in the second quarter. Returns on individual apartments can differ substantially after taxes, vacancies, housing-company charges and renovation costs.