Samla Market Pulse

Logistics on the transaction market

Logistics properties came to the fore on the transaction market, as two players announced arrangements concerning Finland. Property company Catena signed an agreement to acquire a logistics portfolio of ten properties from Urban Partners. The value of the deal is approximately SEK 2.15 billion. All of the properties are located in Finland, and Finland is Catena's newest market. The deal expands Catena's property portfolio in Finland. Blackstone announced that it will launch a new European logistics platform called Norla. The platform operates in key markets in Sweden, Denmark and Finland, so Finland is part of its operating area. The platform gives investors a more direct route to put money into a high-growth sector.

Projects and construction

Construction company YIT announced projects both in Finland and in the Baltics. YIT will build the Lahela school, daycare centre and youth facility in Tuusula using a life-cycle model, and the value of the project to the company is EUR 70 million. In addition, YIT started three new residential construction projects in the Baltic countries in July–September 2026, with a combined total value of approximately EUR 23 million. The state of Finnish construction is also described by recent statistics on housing construction and on bankruptcies in the sector. In Finland, building permits were granted for 709 dwellings in July, compared with 813 a year earlier, and 40 construction-sector bankruptcies were initiated in August.

People and costs

Changes in leadership and expertise took place during the week at two companies listed on the Helsinki Main Market. Listed company Investors House announced that Pauli Rintala will strengthen the company's property management services. Listed company SRV Yhtiöt Oyj, for its part, organised its operations into four business areas from 1 October 2026, one of which focuses on data centres. At the same time, the cost trend in property management is illustrated by the fact that maintenance costs of residential apartment buildings were 2.9 percent higher in the second quarter than a year earlier. Rents rose by 0.6 percent year on year nationwide over the same quarter and non-subsidised rents by 0.1 percent, which means that maintenance costs grew faster than rents.

Interest rates and housing market

Rising long-term interest rates weighed heavily on real estate shares in September, and only a few companies managed to raise their share prices. In Finland, the three-month Euribor was 2.60 percent on 2 October, and the 12-month Euribor was 3.32 percent on the same day. The average interest rate on new housing loans was 3.35 percent in August. According to the preliminary figure for August, prices of older owner-occupied dwellings fell by 3.3 percent year on year nationwide. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in August, down from 10.5 percent in July. The figures describe the financing and housing market environment in which property investors operate in Finland. At the start of October, an amendment to the Finnish Residential Leases Act came into force that, among other things, shortens the landlord's notice period and sets a 14-day deadline for returning the security deposit.

Sources: Nordic Property News, Reuters, YIT stock exchange releases, Investors House stock exchange release, SRV stock exchange release, Finlex.