Tampere used-apartment prices fall in August, offering rare chance for first-time buyers

The city recorded 254 transactions of used apartments in August, nearly one-fifth fewer than a year earlier, according to the real estate federation KVKL's latest housing trade review. Across Pirkanmaa, 478 used apartments were sold, while nationwide transactions of used flats dropped to 4,088 in August, about 15 percent down year-on-year. New apartment sales were almost non-existent, at just 68 units across Finland.

The decline follows an earlier trend: a July report found used apartment prices in Tampere had fallen 5.6% in January–June. Price trends vary regionally. Used apartment prices outside the capital region have risen about 3.2 percent since the start of the year, but Tampere bucked that trend: square metre prices for apartment blocks fell 0.8 percent from July and were 4.1 percent lower than a year earlier, KVKL said.

KVKL CEO Tuomas Viljamaa said in a statement, "Now it is definitely worth checking with your bank about your possibilities to buy an owner-occupied home. The last time the price-to-income ratio was this attractive for buyers was in the aftermath of the 1990s recession."