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1. Dwelling stock 2018

3 million dwellings

At the end of 2018, there were 3,042,000 dwellings in Finland, of which 337,000 were without permanent occupants. The dwelling stock went up by 40,000 dwellings from the previous year. From 1990, the building stock has increased by 833,000 dwellings, or by about 30,000 dwellings per year. Compared to 1990, 158,000 more dwellings were without permanent occupants. The growth in the building stock has been slowing down from the preceding decade. Most dwellings have been built in the 1970s- and 1980`s. Residential building construction has centred in urban municipalities. In all, 79 per cent of the dwellings completed in the 1995 to 2018 period are located in urban areas.

46 per cent of all dwellings are in blocks of flats

As recently as 1990, the numbers of dwellings in detached houses and blocks of flats were still almost equal. At that time, dwellings in blocks of flats numbered 939,000 and those in detached houses only 4,000 fewer. The share of dwellings in blocks of flats grew over the 1990s, however. At the end of 2018, 46 per cent of all dwellings were in blocks of flats, i.e. 1,412,000 which is 249,000 more dwellings in blocks of flats than in detached houses. The number of terraced houses has grown over tenfold since 1970. In 1970 they numbered only 30,000 but the figure had gone up to 412,000 by the end of 2018.

The number of blocks of flats with no lift relatively high

The number of blocks of flats with more than three storeys was around 25,000, of which 2,300 had no lift. Dwellings in blocks of flats with more than three storeys and no lift numbered 68,000 and had 92,000 occupants, of whom 15,000 were aged over 65. It was even less usual to have a lift in a three-storey building. 23 per cent of the 356,000 dwellings in buildings with three storeys were in blocks of flats with a lift. In all, 374,000 Finns, of whom 75,000 were aged over 65, lived in three-storey buildings with no lift.

41,000 dwellings were completed in 2018

In 2018, a total of 41,000 dwellings were completed, of which 6,800 were in detached houses, 3,500 in terraced houses and 30,500 in blocks of flats. Approximately 12,900 new dwellings were completed in Greater Helsinki, 11,000 of them in blocks of flats. Sixty per cent of new dwellings in blocks of flats were rented dwellings at the end of 2018.

Figure 1. Dwellings completed in 2018, number

New blocks of flats completed in 2018 had over 16,300 rented dwellings. Around 3,900 of these were interest-subsidised rented dwellings supported by the state. Government-subsidised rented dwellings do not here include rented dwellings with short-term interest subsidy loans, or of the so-called interim model.

Average floor area of dwellings varies a lot

In 2018 the average floor area of a dwelling was 79.5 square metres. The average floor area of the dwelling stock has grown by about 20 square metres since 1970. The average floor area of a one-room unit was 34 square metres, that of a two-room unit 54 square metres, and that of a three-room unit and a kitchen 79 square metres. Despite the growth in the average size of dwellings, there were about 134,000 dwellings of under 30 square metres. In contrast, only 27 per cent of dwellings have a floor area of over 100 square metres. There are 462,000 one-room units with a kitchen or kitchenette, i.e. 15 per cent of the dwelling stock. The most common type of dwelling is a two-room unit. There are 915,000 two-room units with a kitchen or kitchenette, i.e. 30 per cent of the dwelling stock.

Table 1. Floor area per dwelling (m2) by type of building in 1970–2018

Year	Type of building
	Total	Detached houses	Attached houses	Blocks of flats	Other buildings
1970	60,0	66,0	73,0	51,0	54,0
1980	69,3	83,6	71,7	54,8	55,5
1990	74,4	95,3	70,2	55,8	59,7
2000	76,5	101,9	70,0	56,1	59,8
2010	79,5	108,4	71,2	56,5	60,7
2015	80,0	111,0	71,3	56,4	60,9
2018	79,5	112,0	71,4	55,8	60,6

The average floor area of an owner-occupied dwelling was 97 square metres and most of them are in detached houses. The average floor area of a rental dwelling was 52 square metres and most of them are in blocks of flats. In the dwelling stock statistics the tenure status is mainly defined for permanently occupied dwellings. The tenure status is also defined for a dwelling not permanently occupied when a dwelling is located in a rented dwelling subsidised by the state or a dwelling is temporarily occupied. Of all dwellings, the number of rented dwellings was around 984,000 at the end of 2018 and 900,000 of them were permanently occupied dwellings. The number of rented dwellings has grown by 438,000 since 1990.

Number of non-subsidised rented dwellings increased further in 2018

According to Statistics Finland, a total of 41,000 new dwellings were completed in 2018, of which 49 per cent were rented dwellings. Around 14,700 of the completed dwellings were new non-subsidised rented dwellings, which is three times more than interest-subsidised rented dwellings. Of the buildings completed in this decade, on average, three times more are non-subsidised rented dwellings than interest-subsidised ones. Thirty-two per cent of these non-subsidised rented dwellings and 44 per cent of interest-subsidised rented dwellings are in Greater Helsinki.

Source: Dwellings and Housing Conditions, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Arja Tiihonen 029 551 3272, Marja Hermiö 029 551 3211, info@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Updated 10.10.2019