Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2017 | Page 25

Eversheds Finland :

Transactions Hit Record Numbers

The Finnish real estate is red hot . According to the statistics of KTI , transaction volume in the Finnish property market reached its new annual record level with approximately EUR 6.4 billion in December 2016 . The former record , dating back to 2007 , was EUR 6.29 billion .

R esidential portfolios were the most

traded property sector in 2016 , accounting for about 40 % ( EUR 2.5 billion ) of the total volume . Foreign investors account for 28 % of the total volume .
Saara Raitala , Attorney-at-Law , Partner , at Eversheds Attorneys Ltd says that the mood in the real estate market has been upbeat for a long time now – and she doesn ’ t expect the strong positive trend to die down anytime soon .
“ The market is very active , with a lot of transactions in the works ,” she confirms .
Energising the Field
Heading the Eversheds Transactions team , Raitala has a pretty good handle of what ’ s happening in the industry . Right now , the spirit and sentiment in the real estate negotiations is very “ can-do ” and deals can materialise also quite quickly . Of course , there are also those deals where there are a lot of “ moving parts ” and will simply take more time to complete , no matter what .
“ Also , in the past we ’ ve seen situations where negotiations keep stalling or hit a dead end – but presently , there are plenty of options in the market for the players to explore . This means that the marketplace is a very dynamic one .”
In addition , the recent trend where one or more of the negotiating parties comes from abroad keeps getting stronger . Raitala observes that international players have done their homework well and are looking – more often than not – for the long-term benefits .
“ It appears that international players want to commit to the market and want to stay here for a while . One-time deals are not very common now ,” she says , adding that the role of Finland – and the Nordics – as a stable business environment certainly carries a lot of weight in the post-Brexit world .
Cut to the Chase
As the negotiations are getting increasingly cultural – there are both corporate cultures and national cultures to consider – Raitala lists the Finnish way of doing real estate business as a definite asset : Finnish real estate legislation is rather straightforward and moderate in its approach . Working under the US legislation , for instance , the documentation involved tends to gather bulk considerably more .
Legal experts are also needed , since a growing number of transactions involve joint investments – and the “ paper footprint ” can be rather large in those cases , too . Raitala points out that there are Finnish companies partnering up with foreign companies as they ’ re seeking investment opportunities abroad – and , also , foreign companies who are entering the Finnish market with a local partner .
Full Scope
Eversheds has done a solid job in negotiating the deals – or , at least one would think so looking at the latest customer satisfaction survey . According to the survey results of autumn 2016 , 98 % of the company ’ s clients are likely or very likely to recommend the company . The secret of success at Eversheds Finland lies in the expertise : at the Helsinki office , there are almost 20 lawyers focusing on real estate .
“ The scope of real estate includes – in addition to transactions – also construction , land use , environmental issues and taxation ,” Raitala explains , adding that the company wants to practice “ hands-on ” law . In the field of real estate , understanding the agreement is one thing , but Eversheds wants to help the client to understand also the big picture behind an individual deal , she says . l
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