YIT Home and Oikotie.fi are launching Finland's first service in which homebuyers can bid online for new apartments. The aim is to enable homebuyers to influence the appraisal of housing and increase pricing transparency.

"The OmaHinta concept will further improve and strengthen Oikotie's market place by offering a new kind of online service and online tools which will make apartment acquisition easier. Consumers are able to view the bids made on the service, thus being able to have an effect on the apartment price. Oikotie offers its customers a new, alternative way to buy and sell housing," says Pekka Soini, President of Helsingin Sanomat.

The first YIT residential site to be offered is located in Ilmala, Helsinki. The auction service will go live on 16 August. The bidding period will end on 30 August, after which YIT will contact the highest bidders and agree on the details. The bids made for each of the residential units will be posted online in real time for all to see. Experiences with the first phase will determine further measures.

Open bidding on homes is new in Finland. Such auctions are held in countries such as Sweden and the United States. Have a look at the service at www.oikotie.fi.

Oikotie is the classifieds service of Helsingin Sanomat. The Helsingin Sanomat business unit is part of Sanoma, the newspaper division of the SanomaWSOY Group.