Helsinki

1. Sauna Culture: Helsinki has a strong sauna culture, with over 3,000 public saunas in the city. Saunas are an essential part of Finnish life, where people go to relax, socialize, and unwind, often enjoying a dip in the nearby sea or a lake afterward. 2. World Design Capital: In 2012, Helsinki was designated as the World Design Capital, highlighting its commitment to design and innovation. The city hosts various design events, festivals, and exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing local and international talent. 3. Green City Initiatives: Helsinki is known for its extensive network of parks and green spaces, with over 10% of the city area dedicated to parks. The city is actively promoting urban gardening and sustainable practices, encouraging residents to engage in environmentally friendly initiatives like community gardens and green roofs.

In Helsinki, the housing market is experiencing a lively period, with a focus on both buying and renting. About 28% of Finland's population lives in rental homes, a figure that is likely higher in urban areas like Helsinki. The city has a low rental vacancy rate, around 2.5%, indicating high demand for rental properties. The median price per square meter to rent in Helsinki varies, but rental prices have seen slight increases. For buying, old dwellings have seen minor price adjustments, while new apartments have increased in value. Property prices are expected to stabilize, with a modest increase of 1.5% forecasted for Helsinki in 2025. Publicly owned housing in Helsinki is significant, with 50,000 units under public management. This housing is often provided through a mix of social and price-regulated housing, with social housing acting as a safety net for those who cannot afford private housing. Public housing is not exactly the same as social housing; public housing can include both social and subsidized housing, while social housing specifically targets those with limited financial means. Helsinki's approach to housing ensures a mix of housing types, aiming to prevent socio-economic segregation by maintaining a balance of housing categories in new districts.

Helsinki faces a deepening housing crisis marked by **high demand, limited supply, and affordability problems**. The city experiences strong demand for both rentals and property purchases, particularly in popular neighborhoods, but new housing construction remains at historic lows. In 2024, only 21,000 new units were started across Finland, the lowest in a decade, with supply especially restricted in Helsinki. Prices for building plots in Helsinki are nearly 1.5 times the national average, and while average prices of old dwellings have fallen by about 2.8% in the metropolitan area, rents have continued to rise, especially for subsidized housing, which saw a 4.6% increase in Greater Helsinki in the past year. This imbalance leaves many groups vulnerable. **Renters, first-time buyers, those on lower incomes, and young professionals** face the brunt of high costs and insufficient housing options. Recent data shows that homelessness has also risen for the first time in over a decade, with government figures reporting 3,806 homeless people nationwide in 2024, including a 50% increase in street homelessness in Helsinki. The supply shortage is expected to persist, as experts forecast that substantial new housing will not enter the market until at least 2027. These issues disproportionately affect low-income residents, young people, migrants, and the elderly, making secure and affordable housing harder to access for the city’s most vulnerable.

Helsinki’s city administration approaches affordable and sustainable housing through a combination of policy targets, innovative housing models, and specific programmes. The city’s current strategy, underlined in the Implementation Programme on Housing and Related Land Use 2024 (AM-ohjelma), sets out to provide a diverse range of high-quality housing, prevent regional segregation, and promote social sustainability. A primary goal is to eradicate homelessness by 2025. To achieve this, Helsinki is expanding diverse housing options, including a significant pilot of a new rent-to-own model, which sits between renting and owner-occupation and targets groups similar to those eligible for right-of-occupancy housing. The city focuses on converting unused industrial, office, and roadside plots into homes, building primarily along public transport corridors to preserve green spaces and integrating resident input into planning. Cooperative building is encouraged to let future residents design affordable homes meeting their needs, and new student housing is prioritised close to campuses. Helsinki also supports the Housing First initiative, offering homeless individuals immediate, permanent housing combined with social support services. Modular temporary apartments are being piloted to quickly add affordable units, especially for students and mobile workers, by using underutilised spaces like car parks. The city safeguards public housing through its municipal company Heka and continues to invest in refurbishing and expanding the existing housing stock to ensure sustainability and inclusivity for all residents.

In Helsinki, cooperative housing plays a relatively small but growing role in the housing market. The city is actively exploring new models of housing, including cooperative housing, to address affordability and supply challenges. Cooperative housing in Finland currently accounts for a small percentage of the housing stock, with about 50 cooperative projects nationwide. Helsinki promotes cooperative housing as part of its broader strategy to diversify housing options and prevent socio-economic segregation. The city encourages cooperative building models that allow future residents to design affordable homes tailored to their needs. While specific numbers on cooperative housing's share in Helsinki are not readily available, the sector is seen as a complementary alternative to existing housing types, particularly for those who cannot afford private housing but do not qualify for social rentals. The Finnish government has supported the development of cooperative housing through subsidies, aiming to provide an additional housing option for those who fall outside traditional public and private housing sectors. However, the sector faces institutional challenges that need to be addressed to accelerate its growth.