According to rental housing platform Pararius, the increasingly competitive Dutch housing market resulted in rental prices rising by an average of 5 to 8 percent in the biggest cities in the second quarter of this year. 

Supply of rental housing falling in biggest Dutch cities

While Dutch house prices have been falling for the past several months after reaching record highs during the coronavirus pandemic, rental prices in the Netherlands are continuing to rise, especially in the major cities. Pararius attributes the increases to the fall in housing supply.

According to figures published by Pararius, the number of rental properties on offer has fallen dramatically, resulting in an increasingly competitive market. Of the total number of rental properties on the market in the second quarter of 2023, only 39 percent were located in the five biggest cities (Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Utrecht) - in the second quarter of 2021, this figure peaked at 55 percent. 

Pararius reports that the dwindling supply of rental housing can be explained by the introduction of new valuation rules in May 2022. As of last spring, the official property value (WOZ waarde) has had less impact on determining the rental price of a property - which, as Pararius director Jasper de Groot explains, has resulted in “many homes from the private sector reverting to the social sector,” while “rental properties that became vacant from tenants were often not rented out again, but sold.”

Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague see biggest price hikes

Across all five of the major Dutch cities, the average price per square metre has increased since last spring. Unsurprisingly, Amsterdam experienced the most significant price hikes, with rents rising by an average of 7,6 percent over the past 12 months. 

Similarly, in Rotterdam and The Hague, private sector rental prices rose by 7,3 percent. The increases were the smallest in Eindhoven and Utrecht, at 5,8 and 5,1 percent respectively. Nationally, prices have risen by an average of 0,4 percent, with new tenants now paying an average of 17,10 euros per square metre per month.

Thumb: Resul Muslu via Shutterstock.com.