Hi, it's Malte. This is issue 2 of Houses for a Song.
Still no agency has said yes to a house. So I am changing how I ask them. Many of the agencies I write to are in Finland, so this issue goes there.
Number of the week: €16,500
In 2025, 28 countryside houses with their own land sold in Lieksa, in North Karelia. Line them up by price. The one in the middle cost €16,500. In all of Finland, the middle countryside house cost €107,000.
What the middle house looks like
The public numbers I use give the price, not the size or the condition. A price this low can mean an old house that needs work. Houses inside the town plan cost more. There the middle one cost €36,000, from 11 sales.
The transfer tax is 3%, so €495. The official witness of the sale (kaupanvahvistaja) costs €143. Registering you as the owner (lainhuuto) costs €172. So the full cost to buy was close to €17,300.
Where to look
North Karelia has 13 towns. In 4 of them, the middle countryside house sold for under €50,000. Three stand out:
Lieksa: 28 sales, middle price €16,500.
Heinävesi: 9 sales, middle price €20,000.
Ilomantsi: 8 sales, middle price €21,250.
In mid-winter, when the ice is 40 cm thick, a 7 km ice road opens across the lake from Lieksa to Koli village. It makes the drive 51 km shorter.
Source: Maanmittauslaitos, the Finnish land survey, property sales statistics 2025 (CC BY 4.0). Built houses with their own land, outside a town plan. Towns with fewer than 3 sales are hidden. Houses on a rented plot and homes sold as housing-company shares are not counted. Map: Statistics Finland. Tax: Vero.fi. Fees: MML price list, October 2026. Ice road: koli.fi.
Buying tip: from outside the EU, you need a permit
If you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA country, you need a permit from Finland's Ministry of Defence to buy a house with its own land. Apply online as soon as you know the house, and no later than 2 months after the purchase.
The fee is €210 online. You do not get it back if the answer is no. If the answer is no, you must sell the house within 6 months. A house on a rented plot, or a home sold as housing-company shares, needs no permit.
One question for you
Would you move this far north and east for a house at this price? Hit reply and tell me what would stop you. I read every answer.
Until next Friday,
Malte
All-in costs are our estimate from public tax and fee tables. Check them with the agency or the official witness of the sale (kaupanvahvistaja). Reply to this email if a link is dead.