The building services sector's business climate survey paints a stark picture of the industry's fragmented market situation, with the regional gap in particular deepening. New construction continues to decline, but expectations have improved slightly since the spring. Support changes weaken growth opportunities in renovation construction
Despite the downturn in new construction, the outlook is slightly more positive than in the spring (balance figures in the autumn -14,6 and in the spring -24,5), especially in residential and industrial construction. On the other hand, the outlook for public construction and office and commercial construction is still weak. National differences are also significant: especially in Eastern Finland, cranes are hardly moving.
The weak development of renovation construction continues
The situation in renovation construction has not changed significantly since spring 2025. The balance figure predicting the development of housing renovations is slightly positive, but renovation construction continues to decline in other areas. Overall, growth expectations for renovation construction have been negative throughout the 2020s. The continuous growth in renovation debt is like a time bomb, the consequences of which will ultimately fall to the shareholders, municipalities and the state.
"With the right political decisions, we can get construction back on a growth path. It would be possible to ease the situation in renovation construction with sufficiently large and correctly targeted subsidies, such as the household deduction extended to housing companies or various investment grants. The need for subsidies is especially emphasized outside growth centers," CEO of the Finnish Building Technology Association and the Finnish Electrical and Telecommunication Contractors Association STUL Marko Utriainen says.
The growth of renovation construction requires, in addition to government support measures, decision-making ability from housing companies.
"Housing renovations are being slowed down by the difficulty many housing companies have in obtaining loans, especially in quiet market areas. That is why planning and timely decision-making by housing companies are more important than ever. Now is the right time for renovations, as there is still labor available. When the economy brightens, there will be a renovation rush and finding experts will become even more difficult," CEO of the Association of HVAC Contractors LVI-TU and Deputy CEO of the Finnish Housing Construction Association Mika Hokkanen says
Order backlogs continue to decline
The order backlog has decreased since spring 2025, especially for the largest players. The order backlog for designers has decreased the most and profitability is also developing in the wrong direction. The design order backlog predicts construction 3–9 months ahead, and reflects the situation with the forecast of building permits and building starts.
The median order backlog for full-time employees has remained at three months for both HVAC and electrical contractors and designers. The positive trend in requests for quotations, which has continued for two years, has leveled off.
“In addition to new construction, attention should be paid to renovation construction. Repair debt has accumulated in the years of high interest rates. Energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy production need an additional boost from financial support. Grading property tax according to energy class could be something worth considering,” said the CEO of the Finnish Electrical Designers Association NSS. Jouni Kekalainen comment.
Net sales will weaken, except for the largest players
Almost every second respondent expects their turnover to decrease. More than half of the largest operators expect their turnover to increase. In contrast, more than half of the respondents with the smallest turnover expect their turnover to decrease, and only one in ten expects growth.
Expectations for profitability have weakened since the spring. Half of respondents estimate that their profitability will decrease and only 9 percent estimate that it will improve.
The number of personnel is expected to increase slightly by spring 2026. 3,3 percent of personnel are currently laid off. The availability of skilled workers has improved since the spring, but it is weaker for electrical contractors than for other operators.
See the result graphs
Excerpts from the comments
- I could support that acceleration of housing production a little. The cuts in interest-subsidized loans are a step in exactly the wrong direction.
- Late summer and early autumn have seen a slight pick-up in all areas. The very poor first half of the year will weaken the result and turnover.
- A little light at the end of the tunnel.
- Order backlog has weakened since last year. Autumn looks a little brighter.
- Housing production is still very low. However, more projects are being launched than last year, but the projects that are being launched are small and there are far too few of them.
- There is a demand for experts as always, but the number of skilled personnel is small, and retirement brings its own challenges.
- The challenge of getting motivated and professional staff.
The survey was conducted by LVI-Technical Contractors LVI-TU, Building Engineering Association Electrical and telecommunications contractors STUL ry ja Electrical Designers NSS