Making home ownership more affordable than renting

In the past few years, SRV has become one of the largest housing builders in the Greater Helsinki Area. The company seeks to further increase the share of its revenue accounted for by housing construction. At the same time, SRV intends to expand its customer base among first-time homebuyers and families with children. To that end, SRV has developed a new concept in which owning your home is more affordable than renting. Construction of the first model site will begin in Keimolanmäki, Vantaa in summer 2018.

“Everyone understands that keeping the price down means compromising on something — but on what? Our aim isn’t to build tiny apartments or skimp on quality, but to make high-quality homes for good everyday life. We’ve studied customers’ opinions on what they find necessary and unnecessary considering the price”, says Antero Nuutinen, Senior Vice President, Housing and regional offices.

The new concept has two focuses. Surveying customers and inviting them to participate in the process have shed light on what first-time homebuyers and families with children value in their homes. SRV’s experts have also reviewed the construction costs of homes and thought about what could be done differently to build high-quality owner-occupied homes in which the living expenses will be lower than rent levels in their area. Homes built in line with this new concept will not be sold in the traditional way. The residents will have the opportunity to have their say even earlier in the process on what good living means to them.

The story was originally published in the 2017 Annual Report