Thursday 11 September 2008

Normalizing Huoneistokeskus


"Finnish estate agency Huoneistokeskus said in a market review on Tuesday that the Finnish housing market was not in recession but undergoing a process of normalisation after a dozen years of boom"

So what is normalization? a -30-50% correction in order to make housing affordable for first time buyers and young couple?

Huoneitokeskus, as all the other Finnish "dinosaurs" estate agents are facing extinction. Indeed the market has frozen. And this time, it's not the "baby boomers", the 1945 crude, that will come to the rescue as they will all retire in mass, in the years to come, becoming this time a drain on the country finances...
At the same time, the population is ageing and immigration anemique while emigration could rise as economic prospect are darkening...not a good combination for the future of the residential market....

Indeed the world is normalizing , but not in the sense of huoneistokeskus. There is a clear shift of power, and the forces in action are great to fight...

What next for Huoneistokeskus? well to survive, they will have to go to the painfull cost cutting. They will have to fire to let go some real estate agents. The best one, will try a career in politics, as they were good in fooling people, maybe potential recruits for the National Coalition Party. The non performing real estate agents, will work in the public sector, maybe bus or tram drivers or at worse as municipality head...

To conclude, I will advise Huoneistokeskus to rename itself to Huonokeskus, I think that will reflect better their businessmodel for the next two decades or so...So not only the housing will normalize but so will huonokeskus...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

At least, they reckon that the Boom has ended. Something not told enough in the media...

-Anton

Anonymous said...

Just as elsewhere the RE prices in the greater Helsinki area have shot through the roof because of massive credit expansion during the last couple of years. Now that the money bubble has bursted and the recession is setting in, where else than down can the prices go?

Huijauskeskus knows this, but being a big market operator they of course try to re-kindle a dying flame ;)

M.