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INNA publishes its first Nordic rental market review, comparing the rental housing markets of Finland, Sweden and Denmark through to 2027. The review shows that the market structures and outlooks of the countries differ significantly from one another, even though all three share one common feature: residential construction has declined sharply in all three countries. However, the consequences vary considerably between the countries.
In Finland, occupancy rates for rental apartments owned by professional landlords have risen sharply. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, occupancy rates had risen to approximately 95.3 per cent by the end of the third quarter of 2026. Occupancy rates in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area are now at their highest level since the beginning of the decade. At the market’s weakest point, they fell below 90 per cent. Strong occupancy rate development has also been seen in the six largest cities outside the Helsinki metropolitan area.
2027 is set to become the fifth consecutive year in Finland in which housing construction starts fall below 20,000, while the estimated long-term need is approximately 30,000–35,000 dwellings per year. The contraction in supply, combined with growing demand in the Helsinki metropolitan area and the city regions of Tampere and Turku, supports a gradual rebalancing of the rental market.
International investor interest in the Finnish market has grown, and the investment market has become more active. Particular to Finland is the use of the euro, which eliminates currency risk for investors from the euro area. In addition, rental market regulation in Finland is lighter than in Sweden and Denmark.
In Sweden, the housing shortage is structural and most acute in the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö regions, where the vacancy rate for rental apartments was only approximately 0.3 per cent in 2024. According to Boverket’s autumn 2026 forecast, Sweden will start construction of just over 32,000 dwellings this year, while the estimated annual need is approximately 52,300. Extensive rent regulation keeps rents moderate for tenants, but at the same time weakens incentives for new construction. This feeds a further deepening of the housing shortage. From an investor’s perspective, the situation is not unambiguously favourable: the housing shortage may become a bottleneck for regional economic growth.
In Denmark, the vacancy rate for private rental apartments reached a record low of 1.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. A notable exception is central Copenhagen, where the vacancy rate for apartments rose to 4.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2026. Over the past year, the increase in vacancies has been concentrated particularly in small apartments (20–40 m²) in central Copenhagen, where vacancy rates have been as high as over 8%.
Overall, the strength of demand in Denmark combined with limited supply has kept occupancy rates high and the market balance favourable for landlords. This has also been reflected in rent development: rents in Denmark have risen steadily in recent years at an annual rate of approximately 2–3 per cent.
Anton Takkavuori, the Real Estate Analyst who compiled the review, highlights the most interesting findings by country: “In Finland, occupancy rates for rental apartments have finally risen to the levels seen at the beginning of the 2020s, and the trend is moving in the right direction. In Sweden, housing queues are extremely long and continue to grow: in the Stockholm region, there were already over 900,000 people on waiting lists this year. In Denmark, housing prices have risen strongly, which supports the rental market, as fewer and fewer people can afford to buy their own home.
The market review is aimed at real estate investors and is INNA’s first Nordic rental market review.
About INNA Group
INNA is a Nordic real estate services group operating in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. The Group provides property management, financial management, technical services, asset management, leasing, advisory and sustainability services for property owners, investors and occupiers. INNA’s service offering is built locally in each market and strengthened through Nordic collaboration, with the ambition to be the leading Nordic pioneer in real estate services. The group employs over 800 property management professionals and has an annual turnover of approximately EUR 77 million. The Group’s main owner is Adelis Equity Partners. The head office is located in Helsinki.
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