The development project for the village of Saarua is managed by the family-owned company Rukakeskus Oy, which has been responsible for the development of Ruka for five decades. Rukakeskus Oy has carried out several property development projects of a similar scale, such as the Ruka pedestrian village, the RukaValley hotel complex, and most recently, the high-quality Kultakero hotel complex at the sister fell Pyhä. The Ski-Inn apartments for sale are implemented as mutual real estate companies, with buyers protected by the RS system familiar from housing transactions.

The pre-marketing for Ski-Inn Hiutale36 and Hiutale66 has started in April 2025, and you can find the prices and availability here.

For the following locations, it's advisable to fill out our contact form immediately and indicate which apartments you are interested in, as we will contact interested parties in the order the forms are submitted, prior to the official pre-marketing launch.

Next, the pre-marketing for Valtavaara Chalets is expected to begin in June 2025, and Ski-Inn Parkside, which is also expected to be completed by the end of 2025, will follow later in the year.

The pre-marketing for the Saarua and Valtavaara Villas apartments and plots can only commence after the zoning plan amendment, estimated to begin in early 2026.

The construction costs of the apartment include a 25.5% value-added tax (VAT), which can be reclaimed if the apartment is rented out 100% of the time. The VAT amount is significant: approximately €36,000 for a Hiutale36 apartment and around €55,000 for a Hiutale66 apartment. Most new Ski-Inn owners apply for the VAT refund because it is beneficial unless personal use of the apartment is extensive during peak seasons.

For newly built properties, the VAT refund is granted directly as a discount on the apartment’s purchase price. To receive the VAT refund, you only need to register as a VAT-liable entity, for which Ski-Inn Oy provides clear instructions. Additionally, you can reclaim the VAT on maintenance costs, which results in annual savings of approximately €700 for a Hiutale36 apartment and around €1,300 for a Hiutale66 apartment, further improving your return on investment.

If you apply for the VAT refund, you cannot use the apartment for personal use (Omakäyttö) or make spontaneous bookings. Instead, if you wish to use the apartment, you must pay the market rental price into the rental pool, from which part of your paid rent is returned to you as taxable rental income.

You can switch your apartment to personal use for a minimum of one year at a time. However, in that case, you will no longer be able to deduct the VAT on maintenance costs, and you must repay 10% of the VAT refund you initially received for each year of personal use. After 10 years of ownership, there is no need to repay the construction VAT. If you initially opt for a VAT refund, switching to personal use later is relatively easy. However, if you purchase the apartment for personal use from the start, applying for a VAT refund afterward is possible but quite challenging.

The less you use the apartment and the cheaper the periods of your stay, the more likely it is that applying for a VAT refund makes sense. For example, in a larger Hiutale apartment, the annual VAT benefit is approximately €5,500 (10% of the total refund) plus €1,300 from maintenance costs, totaling around €6,800 per year.

If you do not apply for the VAT refund and use the apartment personally, your rental income decreases by approximately one-third of the value of your stays, and you must pay a self-use fee covering linens and cleaning. Roughly estimated, applying for a VAT refund is worthwhile if your personal use of the apartment is valued at less than €10,000 per year.

Spontaneous bookings do not reduce your rental income but are not possible if you opt for the VAT refund. However, outside peak seasons, all Ski-Inn owners—including those who have received a VAT refund—can stay in any Ski-Inn apartment at a 25% discount.

Possibly for the Saarua Villas plot area, where the preliminary plan includes 8 plots of approximately 100 square meters each and 2 large plots of 200 square meters each. In the detailed planning of the area, it will be decided whether the area will be sold as turnkey or by individual plots, in which case binding construction guidelines will be defined to ensure the uniformity and coherence of the area.

They are not final and yes, feedback can be given. The area plan is the result of two years of planning and will not change significantly. The layouts of Hiutale apartments, Valtavaara Chalet, and Parkside have been well thought out, but we welcome feedback from friends of Ruka. The designs of the Valtavaara Villas semi-detached houses, Valtavaara Suites, and Saarua Villas are entirely preliminary, and individual buyers can also influence their own solutions, as they will not be part of the Ski-Inn concept.

The village of Saarua is based on the Ruka Master Plan created by Ecosign Mountain Planners in 2004. Under Ecosign's leadership, a zoning plan was developed for the area in 2018, after which Hotel RukaValley and the Village-2-Valley gondola were constructed. The final Saarua area plan, now presented, was developed between 2023 and 2025 under the leadership of Ville Aho from Rukakeskus Oy, with Tero Vanhanen serving as the area architect (www.terovanhanen.com). The planning was carried out in close collaboration with the city of Kuusamo, responsible for zoning, and the landowner, Metsähallitus. A well-planned project is half done, and we believe the area plan now provides an excellent foundation for the development of the village of Saarua.

Currently, the parking spaces in the Saarua area designated for daily use will remain available until construction begins on each lot. Once Saarua Village is completed, parking in the area will be reserved for those staying there. For general use and day parking, the RukaValley parking area will remain available, and its potential expansion is being evaluated as part of the area's zoning plan update. The city of Kuusamo will expand the Vuosseli day parking area as needed in line with the Saarua Village development and the general plan. As the number of international visitors increases, the proportion of guests arriving by car is expected to decrease slightly.

At Hiutale, there are no apartment-specific parking spaces; instead, there are shared parking areas with approximately 90 outdoor spaces for the seven buildings, as outlined in the area plan. The area will have pre-installed access control barriers that operate with apartment door codes to prevent unauthorized parking if necessary.

In the first phase, 10 x 22 kW charging stations will be installed exclusively for Hiutale apartments in their dedicated parking area, with additional stations added as needed. Not all parking spaces will have heating outlets; instead, charging options will be expanded based on demand.

On the neighboring RukaValley parking area, Rukakeskus Oy opened a public charging station in December 2024, featuring 20 x 22 kW chargers.