Finland's Housing Market Is 'Hot'

Dubai may just be the hottest real estate market in the world. But when it comes to heat, nothing can beat Finland, where every 2.5 people have a sauna."A sauna can be found in almost every house" in the country, according to Finnish officials promoting their Scandinavian nation at MIPIM, the International Property Market in Cannes, France. Most newly built apartment units have a sauna of their own, and those that don't tend to have a common sauna in the cellar. All told, there are an estimated two million saunas in Finland, a country of 5.2 million people. Meanwhile, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates' city on the Arabian Gulf, several companies are developing spectacular mixed-use properties, some of which have a decidedly American look. Emaar Properties alone delivered more than 8,000 housing units last year, and Union Properties is building a race track as a central feature of its flagship project, Motor City. (Move over, NASCAR; here come the Arabs.)