Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2012 | Page 64

Photo: City of Helsinki / Matti Tirri

Rollercoaster Sentiment
Nothing seems certain in today’s economy
– but real estate industry is still standing
The public debt crisis keeps
spreading in Europe and the
United States – and the market is
sweating.
Industrialised countries must
finally face the music and take
measures to tackle their mounting
debts. Substantial cuts are called
for, and it is hard to see venues for
growth in the present situation.

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raditionally, real estate has proven to
be a stable asset class in investment allocation in times of trouble. Properties
also offer good protection against inflation:
at present, many investment managers feel
that inflation will be even more likely to rise
after the implementation of so-called quantitative easing. Rental income from properties is, almost without exception, tied to an
inflation protected index.
According to economic forecasts, the
Finnish economy is predicted to grow only moderately – or not at all – during 2012.
Still, in this turmoil many companies see
opportunity and they are settling into new
properties – which has, in turn, added momentum to the construction of new office

buildings in the Helsinki Metropolitan
Area.
Analyst Tuomas Ahonen from Catella Property says that there is reason to believe that the property market will continue
to attract investors also in the near future.
“The business is likely to continue
without any d