Rent, right of occupancy or buy calculator
Worked examples
The examples are picked each month from the city-centre calculations, so that each option is the best in at least one of them. The figures come from the same calculation as the comparison above.
The comparison has 99 calculations (11 city centres; studios, one-bedroom and larger flats; 5, 10 and 20 years). You end up with more money by buying in 58 of them and by renting in the other 41. A right-of-occupancy flat needs a queue number, and not every area has free flats. If you can get one, it is the best of the three options in 60 of the calculations. Of the assumptions, the growth of home prices matters most: in the examples, a change of two percentage points a year changes the difference between buying and renting by €31,500 on average.
Helsinki keskusta - Etu-Töölö
00100 Helsinki
Studio 35 m² · 10 years
- Price of the flat
- €270,725
- Rent a month
- €1,045
- ASO fee and charge
- €40,609 + €888 a month
Wealth after 10 years
- Rent€101,055
- Right of occupancy€117,321
- Buy€135,851
After 10 years you have the most money if you buy: €135,851, €18,530 more than if you take a right-of-occupancy flat. Buying overtakes renting in year 4.
Prices +1.0% and rents +2.1% a year in this area
Work it out with your own numbersTampere Keskus
33100 Tampere
Studio 35 m² · 5 years
- Price of the flat
- €127,050
- Rent a month
- €781
- ASO fee and charge
- €19,058 + €664 a month
Wealth after 5 years
- Rent€29,822
- Right of occupancy€36,288
- Buy€38,054
After 5 years you have the most money if you buy: €38,054, €1,766 more than if you take a right-of-occupancy flat. Buying overtakes renting in year 3.
Prices 0.0% and rents +2.1% a year in this area
Work it out with your own numbersTurku Keskus
20100 Turku
1 bedroom 55 m² · 5 years
- Price of the flat
- €189,750
- Rent a month
- €884
- ASO fee and charge
- €28,462 + €751 a month
Wealth after 5 years
- Rent€59,068
- Right of occupancy€66,106
- Buy€61,757
After 5 years you have the most money if you take a right-of-occupancy flat: €66,106, €4,349 more than if you buy. Buying overtakes renting in year 5.
Prices +1.1% and rents +2.1% a year in this area
Work it out with your own numbersTapiola
02100 Espoo
Studio 35 m² · 5 years
Changed assumption: no right-of-occupancy flat is available
- Price of the flat
- €199,570
- Rent a month
- €865
Wealth after 5 years
- Rent€58,637
- Buy€32,915
After 5 years you have the most money if you rent: €58,637, €25,722 more than if you buy. Buying overtakes renting in year 24.
Prices -2.4% and rents +2.1% a year in this area
Work it out with your own numbersJyväskylä Keskus
40100 Jyväskylä
1 bedroom 55 m² · 20 years
Changed assumption: maintenance charges rise two percentage points a year faster than assumed
- Price of the flat
- €143,495
- Rent a month
- €855
- ASO fee and charge
- €21,524 + €727 a month
Wealth after 20 years
- Rent€91,843
- Right of occupancy€63,960
- Buy€71,603
After 20 years you have the most money if you rent: €91,843, €20,240 more than if you buy. Buying does not overtake renting within 30 years.
Prices -2.0% and rents +2.1% a year in this area
Work it out with your own numbers
Common assumptions
- Mortgage rate
- 3.2%
- ECB, average variable rate on new housing loans in Finland, 2026-08, fixed for the whole loan term
- Down payment
- 20%
- Loan term
- 25 years
- Return on savings
- 2.5%
- ECB, new household deposits up to one year in Finland, 2026-08
- Selling costs
- 4%
Estimates, not financial advice. Wealth is what you would have at the end of the period: home value less loan and selling costs, the ASO fee refund and savings. Sources: Statistics Finland, ECB statistics.