Housing trade | The prices of studio apartments have collapsed, says celebrity broker Andrei Koivumäki – “Those times are over”

If now you want to sell the studio you own, you should be prepared for the fact that you will have to bargain heavily on the selling price of the apartment.

This is how the founder of the real estate brokerage company Neliöt moves LKV, a real estate broker Andrei Koivumäki housing trade service in Oikotie’s bulletin.

“If you want your studio at the 2019-2022 price level, you can forget about selling for years. Those days are over. If you bought a studio in the hottest market in a new development or, for example, in Kallio, you can deduct at least 1,000 euros per square meter or even 1,500 euros per square meter,” Koivumäki says in the announcement.

Koivumäki says that the prices of studio apartments have literally collapsed. He estimates that prices are currently at the level of 7–9 years ago.

For example, in Kallio, which Koivumäki is raising, the square meter prices of the apartments turned down last year. Whereas in the peak year of 2021, according to Statistics Finland, the square footage prices of Kallio’s studios hovered around 7,400 euros on average, last year they fell to around 7,100 euros. The prices apply to old shared apartments.

Quarterly, the prices per square meter of studio apartments have fallen more.

According to Statistics Finland’s preliminary data, the prices per square meter of studios in Kallio were around 6,600 euros in July–September 2023. At the same time a year ago, square meter prices hovered around 7,200 euros, and in 2021 and 2020 around 7,300–7,400 euros.

The prices per square meter have therefore come down significantly from the peak years, but even in Kallio we are still far from the price level of 7–9 years ago.

Nine years ago, the prices per square meter were much lower in Kallio, in the third quarter of 2014 they were almost 5,500 euros. Seven years ago, the square footage prices of studios sold in Kallio between July and September reached almost 5,700 euros.

Differences are smaller when looking at the whole country or the capital region.

For example, in 2022, according to Statistics Finland, the average price per square meter for apartments in apartment buildings in the whole country was around 3,750 euros, while the price was 3,780 euros a year earlier.

In the third quarter of the current year, the square footage prices of studio apartments in the whole country were around 3,600 euros. For example, until 2021, the difference is quite small. At that time, in the third quarter of the year, the average square footage prices of studios hovered around 3,700 euros.

In the capital region, in July–September of the current year, the square footage prices of studios were around 5,800 euros. In the peak year 2021, the prices were around 6,400 euros at the same time.

Chop There are plenty of homes available at the moment, and studios are not going Oikotie’s housing director Anna Leinonen along for sale as quickly as before.

“The biggest reason is that investment purchases are now clearly less frequent than before,” he says in the announcement.

According to Koivumäki and Leinonen, the sales times for apartments have also lengthened. However, it is quite normal when there is more supply than demand, Koivumäki points out.

“You just have to be prepared for the fact that if before the apartment was sold in a week, now the sale may well take a month,” he says.

According to Leinonen, especially the contrasts in sales times have grown.

“Some of the apartments do not want to be sold at all, some will go as before. The apartments in the desired location and realistically priced are going fast even now,” says Leinonen in the announcement.

Koivumäki and Leinonen urge those who are changing apartments to take into account that both the selling price of the current home and the price of the new home to be purchased are likely to be lower than before.