Updated 8 October 2026
A first home in Finland is usually financed with a bank loan and your own savings. Many first-time buyers also use the state-supported ASP system, which adds better interest on savings, an interest subsidy and a state guarantee.
Own funds and the loan cap
A housing loan can be at most 95% of the fair value of the collateral. The same cap has applied to all buyers since 1 July 2026. The rest comes from your own funds or extra collateral.
Transfer tax
First-time buyers pay transfer tax like other buyers: 1.5% of the debt-free price of a flat in a housing company. On a debt-free price of €250,000, the tax is €3,750. The first-home exemption covered contracts signed before 1 January 2024.
ASP saving
You can start ASP saving at 18 or over as a first-time buyer: someone who has bought less than half of any home before. Homes received as a gift or inheritance are left out of this. People aged 15 to 17 can also save, from their own earnings or funds they control.
- Save at least 10% of the price of the home on an ASP account.
- Make at least 20 accepted monthly deposits of €50 to €1,500 each.
- The savings earn 1% tax-free interest a year. When you take the ASP loan, the bank adds extra interest of 2 to 4%, agreed in the contract, on the savings used for the home.
The ASP loan
The ASP loan can be up to nine times your accepted savings, and at most 90% of the purchase price. The maximum loan is:
- €230,000 for one person or €345,000 for two in Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen, Oulu, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa;
- €160,000 or €240,000 elsewhere.
Interest subsidy. The state pays 70% of the interest above 3.8% of the remaining principal, for at most the first ten loan years. You can choose a bank's interest rate protection instead, and that choice is final.
State guarantee. A free state guarantee can be added to the loan. It covers up to 25% of the outstanding principal, at most €60,000, and is agreed in writing before the purchase.
Term and use. The loan term is at most 25 years when the loan is granted, and up to 29 years with repayment holidays. During the subsidy period the home is your permanent residence. You can rent it out or leave it empty for up to two years in total.
After the purchase
Monthly costs, renovations and tax when you sell are covered in What does buying a flat cost?
Work out your own case
The comparison on Asumisvalinta includes the ASP loan and its interest subsidy. It shows year by year how buying your first home does against renting and right of occupancy in the area you choose.
Sources
- ASP-säästäminen ja ASP-laina, State Treasury, page updated 10 August 2026, read 8 October 2026.
- Makrovakauspäätös: asuntolainakatto nousee 95 prosenttiin kaikille lainanottajille, FIN-FSA, 30 June 2026.
- Transfer tax for buyers of a flat and buying your first home, Finnish Tax Administration, read 30 September 2026.