Radio | Newsweek in plain Finnish | 5.10.2025

Consumer confidence in the economy and major purchases

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Consumer confidence

The topic of the news week is consumer confidence in the economy and large purchases.

Finns are now uncertain about their own economic situation and that of Finland as a whole.

The survey shows that consumer confidence rose slightly in September, but it was still weak.

The situation has a significant impact on the housing market, for example.

We will now explain more about what consumer trust means and how it affects people’s decisions.

There is a sign on the windshield of the dark car saying that it has been sold.

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Many Finns do not want to buy a car now because the economy is uncertain. Photo: Mimmi Nietula / Yle

Major acquisitions

Consumer confidence means how confident people are about the sufficiency of money and the future of the Finnish economy.

When trust is weak, people are hesitant to make big purchases, take out loans, or spend a lot of money.

Statistics Finland measures people’s confidence through surveys. Such a survey was conducted again in September. S-pankki, for example, has also conducted a survey on the financial confidence of Finns.

Finns feel that now is a bad time to make major purchases.

Only 15 percent of Finns feel that now is a good time to make major purchases, such as buying an apartment or a car.

33 percent of Finns feel that a mortgage is now a financial risk.

36 percent of Finns plan to reduce their spending over the next year.

Housing transaction

56 percent of Finns believe that unemployment will increase within a year.

Economic uncertainty is also reflected in housing prices.

The prices of used apartment buildings have fallen by almost 2 percent per year across the country.

In the Helsinki region, prices have fallen by as much as 17 percent since the most expensive years. Apartment prices are falling because apartments are not selling.

Experts estimate that housing prices may start to rise next year if the economic situation improves.

There is a sign for housing introductions in front of the apartment building.

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Housing prices have fallen because the housing market is doing poorly. People don’t want to make big purchases. Photo: Mimmi Nietula / Yle

The impact of trust

Consumer confidence has a significant impact on the entire Finnish economy.

Half of Finland’s economy is generated by what people buy and use.

Experts remind us that the situation is not quite as bad as the confidence figure alone suggests.

Some Finns believe that the economic situation will improve over the next year.

Repetition

The topic of the news week was consumer confidence in the economy and large purchases.

Many people are now postponing major purchases, such as buying a home or taking out a loan. As a result, the prices of used homes have also fallen.

When people save and postpone purchases, the economy does not grow quickly.

This was a news week in plain Finnish. See you again, let’s hear from you!