Santa Claus, snow, reindeer, ski jumpers, woolly jumpers, long-distance runners, javelin throwers, modernist architects, saunas, mobile phones... Finland certainly has plenty of strings to its bow, but its northern location - Helsinki is the world's northernmost capital - has meant the potential of its property market to attract overseas buyers has remained solidly in the deep freeze.

However, one company believes that the time has come for the northern reaches of Finland's property market to be defrosted on the international stage.

"There seems to be no limit to the demand for tourist accommodation, particularly in eastern regions and the northern Lapland," commented David Redfern, Managing Director of David Stanley Redfern, the company hoping to put Finland on the international property map. "Despite this, UK investors have been slow to cotton on to Finland's wintery appeal. With world-class ski slopes and amazing array of outdoor activities, the area is primed for a tourist boom. Occupation figures from Russian tourists alone have shown a dramatic upturn this year, rising by 30 per cent so far." 

Seven hours by train from St Petersburg, and a short flight to both the city of the Tsars and Moscow, Finland's property market is well-placed to benefit from Russia's increasing wealth, and its striking scenery is no longer necessarily off limits to a generation of international property hunters prepared to push that little bit further into previously uncharted territory.

A land of icy vistas, pristine natural environments, stunning seasonal contrasts, and a charming combination of wooden and Art Nouveau architecture, Finland is by turns both largely unspoilt and thoroughly modern (especially along its southern coastline), and Redfern sees Lapland as possessing the most property potential at the present moment in time.

"Lapland offers very exciting and potentially lucrative prospects to any buy to let investor," said Redfern. "The Levi ski station is a rising winter playground boasting more than 50 slopes catering to every level of ability. Where most destinations would be happy with such a stunning facility, Levi houses more than 52 active tourism concerns, ranging from husky rides and reindeer safari to hot air balloon rides and arctic fishing."

A land of midnight sun and northern lights, the sun doesn't dip below the Finnish horizon for several weeks in mid-summer, allowing non-winter attractions to take centre stage, but with one summer day lasting for over two months in some parts of Lapland there's plenty for summer visitors to do - and plenty of daylight for them to do it in. And with Finland finally attracting some column inches in the British travel media, an increase in visitor numbers from Britain is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.

For those interested in tapping the potential of this property market, 85 one-to-three bedroom fully furnished suites with views of the Yllas mountain and direct access to the ski slopes are available in the Snow White Aurora Sky hotel complex, with prices starting at 136, 094 euros (approximately £92,000).

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Article first published 29 August 2007