Motives for Russian Second Home Ownership in Finland

Abstract

Russian second home ownership has been a growing trend in Finland during the last two decades. Russian second homes or dachas comprise the absolute majority among foreign purchases, which is about 70% of the total annual foreign real-estate business in Finland. The phenomenon of Russian second home ownership in Finland has not been the focus of much academic attention. This paper is the first attempt to define the reasons that Russians have for their choice of country for a second home location and what kind of motives are behind this decision. The primary general information about the case has been collected through 25 interviews with Russian second home owners in the Savonlinna region, province of South Savo, eastern Finland. The results show that second home demand and location are strongly intertwined in the motives of Russians. Among the main motives for second home ownership and its location in Finland are: the strongly positive image of Finland, untouched and clean nature, similar climatic conditions, lake landscape with personal access to the lakeshore, and price rates for second homes. Other motives, such as relaxation and activities, are playing a secondary role.