It appears that people who bought their homes when prices were at their highest will need to wait years before they will be able to sell them without a loss, an economist told Helsingin Sanomat.

Many homeowners who bought their properties during the 2021-22 peak are postponing sales, waiting for higher prices to prevail, according to Juho Keskinen, chief economist at the Mortgage Society of Finland (Hypo), a home financial services firm.

His assessment applies to apartments in growth centres, HS noted. However, in communities where populations are shrinking, housing prices will likely never return to past peaks.

The paper said it heard similar opinions from Nordea economist Juho Kostiainen and Pellervo Economic Research (PTT) economist Veera Holappa.

They all said there is nothing suggesting that prices are set to rapidly increase anytime soon.

HS asked them about what the real estate market's future might hold.

Housing prices have been on their way down since the summer of 2022, or about four years.

According to Keskinen, the last time Finland was in a similar situation was during the worst phase of the economic crisis of the 1990s.

It took a long time for the market to recover, and pre-90s recession prices were not reached until the early 2000s, the paper explained.

However, even though the current downturn has continued for quite some time, the situation is not as bleak as it was decades ago. Comparatively, the price plunge was much deeper back then — with housing prices falling by an average of 40 percent.

So far, current prices have dropped by an average of 15-20 percent since their peak four years ago. The ongoing price decline has been more pronounced in the greater Helsinki area than in the rest of the country, the paper noted.

Another major difference between now and the 1990s is that back then, interest rates were in the double digits and the unemployment rate was roughly double what it is these days.

Shaking off the chill

The cold and windy weather is set to continue until Wednesday, according to Ilta-Sanomat.

It said that this week, Finland will see weather conditions ranging from snowfall to temperatures as high as 20 degrees Celsius.

But it looks like the warmer conditions will arrive just in time for May Day celebrations, which begin on Thursday, May Day Eve, the paper said, citing the Foreca forecast.

Temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will range between 5-10 degrees in southern areas, while central areas it will be a couple of degrees cooler. It will be coldest further north, in areas including Kuusamo and eastern and northern Lapland (0-5 degrees).

Windy conditions are also set to continue during the beginning of the week. According to the forecast, intermittent local showers are also possible in many areas.

More pleasant weather is expected to start arriving on Wednesday, although it will be Thursday before it gets warmer. By then, western parts of the country could reach 15 degrees. Elsewhere, it will be more like 10 degrees Celsius.

On Friday, when people usually head out on May Day picnics, it will probably be even warmer, Foreca's on-duty meteorologist said, according to Ilta-Sanomat.

On May Day, daytime temperatures will rise to between 13 and 18 degrees. In some places, the thermometer may even rise to close to 20 degrees, according to the forecast.

The weekend will be even warmer, according to Latvala.

"Temperatures will mostly be 15–20 degrees in most parts of the country. The temperature may be even over 20 degrees in some places. In northernmost Lapland, the temperature will be around 10 degrees or slightly cooler," Latvala said.

Veteran's Day

If you are wondering why Finnish flags are on flagpoles across the country, it's because Finland is observing National Veterans' Day on Monday, according to Iltalehti.

The official flag day on 27 April honours veterans, the end of the Lapland War in 1945, and the end of World War II.

This year, President Alexander Stubb and his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb are to take part in the main Veterans Day celebrations at the Mikaeli Concert and Congress Hall in Mikkeli.

To mark the day, Air Force fighter jets flew over Mikkeli Market Square at nine on Monday morning.

A jet flyover is also scheduled at noon in far northwestern Finland's Kilpisjärvi, over the Three-Country Cairn, where the borders of Finland, Sweden and Norway meet, according to the paper.

Finland has observed National Veterans' Day since 1987.