These are quite common in Finland, not just Rovaniemi (which does not really have extraordinary cost of living unless you have electric heating). So, here's how

These are quite common in Finland, not just Rovaniemi (which does not really have extraordinary cost of living unless you have electric heating). So, here's how I see it: - When whole new neighborhoods are built, it's not unusual to start with building a factory to manufacture the elements. For smaller projects there's usually a factory within 150 kilometers. This is not Siberia. - There's always insulation and outer wall on top of the panels. The result is not always pretty, but not necessarily worse than concrete poured on site. - The construction crews aren't always competent and there are many ways to screw up a concrete cast. Quality wise both precast and on site casting have their own problems. - The seams between element need periodic repair. If the house owners decide to save money here, it's going to be expensive later. They're also a huge sound insulation problem.