Confronting the social debate: A study of the distribution of Russian recreational properties in Eastern Finland

ABSTRACT

Transborder property ownership is a growing trend in different parts of the world. In Finland, Russians make up the biggest group of foreign buyers. The article examines Russian recreational property purchases in Eastern Finland, where South Savo Region is subject to the heaviest flow of Russian purchasers. Russian purchases of second homes have been the subject of a broad social debate dominated by negative attitudes towards the phenomenon. Fears of place change and displacement have been among the main concerns. The authors reveal how arguments presented in the social debate on Russian ownership correspond to the distribution of Russian properties in South Savo. Statistics for the period 2003–2012 and GIS methods were used to analyse the distribution and density of Russian recreational properties in the region. Statistical modelling uncovered some factors that affected the location of the properties. The findings indicate that the arguments presented within the social debate have only partially derived from the distribution patterns of Russian properties. The authors conclude that a combination of factors, including distances from the border and services as well as preferences for waterside locations, have influenced the choice of location of Russian properties and led to concentrations in certain areas.

EDITORS:

• Michael Jones, Catriona Turner

KEYWORDS:

• Eastern Finland
• recreational property
• Russians
• spatial distribution
• second homes

Acknowledgements

The work on this article was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, South Savo Regional Fund and Kyösti Haataja Foundation. The methodology of the article was developed during the project ‘Spatial Patterns of Foreign Second Home Ownership in South Savo’ funded by the Regional Council of South Savo under the European Structural Fund. Authors would like to thank Professor C. Michael Hall, Professor Greg Halseth, Dr Kati Pitkänen, Dr Czeslaw Adamiak, and Dr Adam Czarnecki for their constructive comments on the early drafts of the paper. Special thanks are owed to Dr Paul Fryer for checking the language and comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, and to editor-in-chief Michael Jones and copy editor Catriona Turner for outstanding editing work and improving the manuscript.

Notes

1. The data were derived from the Official Purchase Price Register and provided directly to the authors in 2014 by the National Land Survey of Finland.

2. Quoted from an unpublished article by Chris Paris, titled ‘Multiple homes, dwelling, hyper-mobility & emergent transnational second home ownership’, which was presented at the European Network of Housing Research (ENHR) conference ‘Housing in an expanding Europe: Theory, policy, participation and implementation’ held in July 2006, in Ljubljana, Slovenia