Finland wants to completely close its real estate market to Russians

Finland wants to completely ban Russians and Belarusians from buying property in the country. The Nordic country's Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, called for stricter rules, RIA Novosti reports, citing broadcaster Yle.

The publication's authors clarified that the ban previously applied only to the purchase of land plots. Apartments, which are usually acquired by buying shares in housing companies, were not subject to the restrictions. According to the Finnish minister, hundreds of thousands of such transactions take place every year, and they are much harder to monitor. In November, as throughout the year, Häkkänen cited as a threat to the country's security a situation in which a significant share of a housing company's shares belongs to a “hostile foreign entity.” He therefore demanded a review of the permission for Russians to buy apartments.

Following Latvia, on 15 July 2025 Finland banned Russians and Belarusians from real estate transactions in the country.

A review of permits for purchasing property in Finland will not affect demand from Russians; the number of transactions is already close to zero. This opinion was expressed to TASS by Alexander Ginovker, founder of the Nevsky Prostor real estate agency.

“In Finland, Russians usually acquired apartments by buying shares in housing companies. This format was once common, but the influx of buyers has almost disappeared. Transactions have been declining for several years, and volumes are now close to zero. Therefore, a review of the permits will not change demand at all,” the agency's source noted.

According to him, demand for property had waned even before the new rules were discussed. “The situation is reminiscent of the recent airport closure: formally, it is a significant event, but in practice the market had already come to a pause, and this step merely formalizes what had effectively happened earlier,” Ginovker noted.

Author - Alla Shelyapina