{"id":2543,"date":"2026-09-28T12:49:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oun.fi\/?p=2543"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:49:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:49:43","slug":"postponing-the-purchase-of-a-first-home-what-it-costs-in-euros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oun.fi\/en\/postponing-the-purchase-of-a-first-home-what-it-costs-in-euros\/","title":{"rendered":"Postponing the Purchase of a First Home: What It Costs in Euros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yle reported in September on young people’s housing habits and the postponement of first-home purchases. The article collected 313 comments. That tells you something about how nerve-wracking this topic is. But the comments barely calculated in euros what waiting actually costs. We did the math.<\/p>\n

What This Is Really About<\/h2>\n

Postponing the purchase of a first home<\/a> is a growing phenomenon in Finland. There are many reasons: uncertainty about one’s own finances, the level of housing prices, the interest-rate situation, fear of making the wrong decision. All understandable reasons.<\/p>\n

But waiting has a price. Not a metaphorical price but a concrete sum measured in euros that disappears from your account every month. Few people actually calculate it.<\/p>\n

Rent Is Not a Free Waiting Room<\/h2>\n

This is the thing that often goes unsaid. When you wait for the right moment to buy, you still pay for your housing. Rent goes directly to financing your landlord’s loan repayment or return. Nothing from it remains with you.<\/p>\n

Mortgage principal repayment is a different matter. Part of it returns to you as the value of your owner-occupied home when you sell. Nothing returns from rent.<\/p>\n

If you pay rent of, say, 900 euros per month in Helsinki or another growth city, that’s 10,800 euros per year. In three years, 32,400 euros. In five years, 54,000 euros. These have left your account without any remaining assets.<\/p>\n

What Happens to Prices While You Wait<\/h2>\n

Hypo’s housing market reviews report that apartment prices have been falling continuously for 3.5 years now – as long as during the worst period of the 1990s recession. The price turnaround is expected in the latter half of the year.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Hypo highlights that population growth, income trends, and the collapse of construction support price development in growth cities. New construction has collapsed. That means supply will not recover in the coming years at the same pace as demand returns.<\/p>\n

If a 200,000-euro apartment rises in value by, say, five percent over three years, its price is 210,000 euros. You have paid 32,400 euros in rent and the apartment has appreciated by 10,000 euros. Rent and price appreciation total over 42,000 euros compared to the situation where you would have bought now.<\/p>\n

In fairness: the owner also pays housing costs that are not recovered, such as loan interest, the maintenance fee, and transfer tax at the time of purchase. The real difference is therefore not the full amount of the rent, but the difference between the rent and these costs, on top of which comes any price increase. For example, the interest on a 180,000-euro loan at 3 percent is about 450 euros per month in the early years.<\/p>\n

The figures are indicative. But the direction is correct.<\/p>\n

Lost principal repayment is an invisible loss<\/h2>\n

If you had bought a 200,000-euro apartment today and your loan payment<\/a> were, for example, 1,000 euros per month, part of it is interest and part is principal. Over five years, the principal portion has shifted into your apartment as your own remaining equity.<\/p>\n

In contrast, if you pay rent for five years, after five years you have the same starting position as now. The apartment will likely cost more. The down payment must be larger in euros, even if the percentage stays the same.<\/p>\n

This is the mechanism that most often goes unnoticed. You wait for a better moment, but by waiting you likely increase the amount of initial capital required and let someone else grow their own equity.<\/p>\n

When Is Waiting Sensible<\/h2>\n

Let’s be honest here. Waiting can be sensible. If you don’t have a sufficient buffer for unexpected expenses after the purchase, it’s better to wait. If your life situation is uncertain – for example, regarding work or commitment to a location – that should be taken into account.<\/p>\n

But waiting purely because prices might fall further or interest rates might drop further is a guess. Professionals cannot time markets reliably. You probably can’t either.<\/p>\n

Venni Aho’s story in the Yle article<\/a> was interesting. He did precise calculations and concluded that a small studio might not be the most sensible first home. That’s a different matter from saying it’s not worth buying at all<\/strong>. So Venni and his family bought a 75-square-meter family home. Venni says smart things in the article and demonstrates that he acted carefully and sensibly.<\/p>\n

A Rough Calculation of Three Scenarios<\/h2>\n