In addition to the demand side issues of low interest rates leading to bigger mortgages and ballooning real estate values in the nordics, what are the supply side constraints?

When visiting Helsinki, Finland, I was amazed to hear a house for a family of 4 can easily cost near 1M euros even when located in the suburbs outside the city.

This was even more surprising to me after hearing about average salaries and driving around the capitol area—-there was a ridiculous amount of unused land. 15-30 mins outside Helsinki and you’re basically in a forest. I assumed there must be some sort of strict restrictions on building.

Is this the case, or am I assuming too much based on my experience with SF?