Invest in Finnsih Real Estate

[Helge V. Keitel]

I think the Finnish Real Estate Business is still quite healthy despite the problems in US, UK, Spain, Balticum, etc.

Russians are buying individual houses and holiday cottages / houses in Eastern and Southeastern Finland.

Puumala is just one example. Have you ever been to Pistohiekat? It's a beutiful part of the Saimaa sea.

Russians are also buying in the Kainuu region.

[J. Vahe]

I also believe that problems in real estate business are mostly outside Finland. Maybe the greatest problems in Finland are 1) small industrial communes where the future of industry is uncertain and 2) building too many and too large shopping centers in such a small country which Finland is.

[Juha Veikko Mentu]

We Finns are like Austrian people on 60s' (when I learned geography last time): a big capital and minority of population living outside of it.

I recall the idea of regions (like Kainuu, Keski-Suomi and Itä-Uusimaa) with regional centers having population of about 100 000, high schools and central hospitals.

If a significant amount of activities could be transferred from Helsinki area northwards to Oulu (which has an infrastructure developed enough to support those activities), we could have 2 capitals instead of one. It would help to develope all of our country, I think. Like in Sweden (areas of Stockholm and Gothenburg), Russian (Moscow and St.Petersburg), U.S.A. (East Coast and West Coast).

Why not? Real estates would be significantly cheaper on Oulu than on Helsinki area!

[Helge V. Keitel]

The recession will make real estate cheaper in the Helsinki region as well. The owners have soon to remodel surplus office and shopping areas to affordable apartments for the not so wealthy.

We'll see a new economic model emerging.

[Helge V. Keitel]

J. Vahe, you are so right with the comment about "large shopping centers". Finland is just a sparsely populated desert with very little people per square kilometer. Industry is key in the future as well. We just need a structural change: pulp, paper, board and sawmilling have a great past but how about the future? What should we make from wood in the future? We need to take steps towards a bio-based industrial structure.

[Helge Keitel]

Take a look at tax breaks for US real estate buyers.

[J. Vahe]

Amazing that in the USA they use basicly quite similar tax-lowing
economic stimulus as the Finnish goverment is trying to use in Finland to
stimulate Finnish land owners to sell timber. Is the Finnish forest industry in as bad situation as the US real estate business?

[Helge V. Keitel]

J. Vahe, that's a good point and your question, "Is the Finnish forest industry in as bad situation as the US real estate business?" makes me nod my head. The US economy is still quite dynamic even though we read dooms day reports in Finnish business press. Some industries are in bad shape, but they will survive. I had the opportunity to talk with a Finnish professor about this last week.