The Dutch national housing stock expanded by 81,000 homes last year, according to new government figures, comfortably beating the official target of 75,000 a year.

Most new homes – 5,000 – were built in Amsterdam, increasing the number of homes in the Dutch capital by 1.1%. Holland Metropole partners Eindhoven and Utrecht increased their supply of homes by 1.7%, while The Hague and Rotterdam added 0.6% and 0.5% to their own respective housing stocks.

‘We have laid a firm basis for the target over the past two years,’ said acting housing minister Stientje van Veldhoven. The minister says there will be challenges to meet the target in 2020 and 2021 because of the downturn in the number of licences. ‘But I am working hard to keep production at a high level, partly by stimulating housing corporations to build more. I’m also focusing on conversions and more flexible housing forms,’ she said.

Last year construction companies handed over the keys to almost 71,000 new homes, the highest number since 2009, according to national statistics agency CBS.

The total is up 6% on 2018 and does not include office and home conversions, which according to housing ministry figures, will add a further 10,000 new dwellings to the total.

Between 2000 and 2009, new housing contributed more than 1% to the national housing stock but that had fallen to 0.6% by 2014 at the end of the economic crisis.

Amsterdam city council and a number of leading Dutch developers and investors have signed a deal to build an additional 10,000 mid-market rental homes in the capital within five years.

The homes, which will target middle income professionals such as teachers, healthcare workers and police officers, will have a rent of between €740 and €1,030 a month. The declaration of intent includes agreement that rents for the properties will rise by inflation plus 1% over the next 20 years.

City housing alderman Laurens Ivens has also agreed to reduce the price of building land if necessary to ensure developments are financially viable.

‘This statement of intent underlines the willingness of everyone involved to work together to stimulate affordable housing in Amsterdam, both rental and for sale,’ said Desirée Uitzetter, chairwoman of Dutch property developers association Neprom and area development director at Holland Metropole partner BPD.

‘We value the fact that Amsterdam is prepared to look again at its method for calculating land prices… to eradicate unnecessary delays to the development and building process.’

Desirée Uitzetter, NEPROM and BPD

Frank van Blokland, director of institutional investor group IVBN, said his members are doing their utmost to contribute to the need for new housing in the city. Holland Metropole partners Bouwinvest and Syntrus Achmea are members of the IVBN, and have been at the forefront of efforts to stimulate a housing development drive.

‘The agreement is the first step to allow continued investment in mid-market rental property in Amsterdam,’ Van Blokland said. ‘To meet the enormous demand for housing, we need a lot more building locations and, of course, good public transport.’

An integrated mobility plan for new developments is a key part of the Holland Metropole approach.

House prices in the Netherlands rose by almost 7% last year, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS and the Kadaster land registry office.

The picture across the Holland Metropole region is very varied, with Utrecht showing the biggest increase at 8%. By contrast, house prices in Amsterdam rose by less than half the national average at just 3.4%. At the end of last year, the average price of a home in the Dutch capital topped €500,000 for the first time.

The five big cities involved in the Holland Metropole project are all working towards increasing their housing stock to cope with their growing populations. According to Dick van Hal, CEO at Bouwinvest, the new figures show the need for further close public-private cooperation at a Holland Metropole level. Only then can challenges surrounding the housing stock and infrastructure be addressed. ‘The Holland Metropole partners are looking at the issues from the bottom up – from the perspective of developers, investors and locals,’ says Van Hal. ‘This is the way to build a sustainable approach to urban development.’

Yet despite the efforts of local authorities, developers and investors, the number of new homes being built in the Netherlands is forecast to shrink 5% this year. Not only have thousands of projects been put on hold because of pollution constraints, but the number of new permits has also dropped sharply, according to research by the construction sector economic institute EIB.

The EIB says that by 2022, production will rise again, with growth forecast to reach 7%. This would add 70,000 new homes a year to the Dutch housing stock, still slightly down on the 75,000 government target.

Utrecht city council and a number of project developers and investors have finalised their plans for Merwede, a virtually car free neighbourhood on part of 24 hectare former industrial site on the banks of the Merwede canal.

Holland Metropole partners AM, Synchroon and BPD are among the developers involved in the project alongside the city authorities. The location, part of a larger redevelopment site known as the Merwede Canal Zone, is within walking distance from the main railway station and the medieval inner city.

The Merwede project has been several years at the design and planning stage and will have up to 6,000 homes, mainly apartments, when completed. The plan also includes schools, shops, cafes, a health centre and sports and cultural facilities.

‘This will be a city district for the 21^st century,’ alderman Kees Diepeveen told the Volkskrant at the formal launch of the plans in early January. ‘We are going for greenery, greenery and more greenery. This is what locals need in a city which is becoming more densely populated.’

The use of cars will be discouraged, with parking reserved for visitors. Instead, residents will be encouraged to cycle and to use one of the hundreds of shared cars parked in ‘mobility hubs’ on the edge of the district. 

The entire Merwede Canal Zone is being developed in stages and will have some 10,000 homes when completed.

More on the plans [Dutch] https://merwede.nl/

More on the area development [Dutch] www.utrecht.nl/merwedekanaalzone