Last year, one in six real estate transactions in Estonia involved foreigners

TALLINN - Foreigners were involved in 17 percent of real estate transactions in Estonia last year, a figure that remained virtually unchanged from the previous year.

A pattern characteristic of recent years continued, with Finns selling off their previous investments, Ukrainians establishing permanent homes in Estonia, and citizens of other countries purchasing property primarily for work or business purposes.

According to data from the real estate portal Kinnisvara24 and the Estonian Land Board, foreigners conducted a total of 5,355 real estate transactions in Estonia in 2025, consisting of 2,601 purchases and 2,754 sales.

"The absolute number of real estate transactions by foreigners has remained relatively stable for the past three years, but their overall share increased by a few percentage points last year," explained Urmas Uibomäe, CEO of Kinnisvara24.

By county, Harju County led with a total of 2,892 purchases and sales by foreigners. Ida-Viru County followed with 1,883 transactions, accounting for over a quarter of all real estate deals in the region. In Ida-Viru County, sellers are predominantly Russian citizens residing in Estonia, while the most active buyers are Finns and Ukrainians. Notably, Finns in Ida-Viru County sold nearly twice as much property as they purchased.

In 2025, Finns were the most active foreign residents in the Estonian real estate market, accounting for nearly one-third of all transactions by foreigners. They were involved in six times more sales than purchases, a trend that has continued for the past four years.

Finns sold property in every county, with the highest volume of sales occurring in Harju County. For instance, sales by Finns accounted for 70 percent of all sales by foreign residents in Viljandi County, 62 percent in Pärnu County, and 60 percent in Saaremaa and Muhu.

According to Uibomäe, the sales by Finns are primarily linked to cashing in on investments made in the 2000s and during the COVID-19 pandemic. "At that time, people bought investment apartments in Tallinn, summer homes in Pärnu and Haapsalu, and country houses in Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, and other parts of Estonia. Many of these owners have now reached an age where maintaining a property from afar has become a burden. The current market conditions provide an opportunity to exit these investments profitably," he explained.

Since the outbreak of the war, hundreds of Ukrainian refugees have purchased property in Estonia. "This indicates that an increasing number of war refugees are looking to establish a permanent home in Estonia, preferring to own property rather than rent," Uibomäe noted.

Last year, purchases by Ukrainians accounted for eight percent of all real estate acquisitions by foreigners in Harju County, 17 percent in Pärnu County, and 10 percent in Ida-Viru County.

"While foreigners previously purchased property in Estonia primarily for investment, the motivation is now increasingly tied to moving here for work, studies, or to start a business," Uibomäe said.

This helps explain why, among foreigners, property purchases by Japanese and Singaporean citizens held a significant share in Lääne-Viru County (17 percent each), and why purchases by US citizens accounted for 53 percent of all foreign property buys in Rapla County.

Kinnisvara24 is the only Estonian-owned real estate portal, founded in 2018 to introduce competition to the market and offer more affordable property listings. The portal attracts over 550,000 visitors each month.