New figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reveal that, in July 2022, Dutch rental prices were an average of 3 percent higher than one year earlier, marking the largest year-on-year increase seen in the Netherlands since 2014. 

Dutch rental prices rise by 3 percent in one year

In July of this year, the cost of renting property in the Netherlands was an average of 3 percent higher than in July 2021, significantly higher than the change of just 0,8 percent recorded by CBS last summer. This means that 2022 marks the highest growth in rental prices that the Netherlands has seen since 2014, when the cost of renting rose by an average of 4,4 percent. 

The changes in prices across the different sectors differed massively: rents for social housing increased by 2,6 percent, while the increase amongst houses in the free sector was a whopping 3,8 percent. 

CBS attributes the sudden and dramatic increase in prices to a change in Dutch law that occurred earlier this year. As of July 1, those renting out properties in both the social and free sectors were allowed to raise prices by up to a maximum of 2,3 or 3,3 percent respectively.

Rents in Amsterdam and Utrecht experience sharpest increase

Unsurprisingly, the largest increase in prices was observed in Amsterdam, where rents rose by an average of 3,6 percent. The other three largest municipalities in the Netherlands - Utrecht, The Hague, and Rotterdam - also all saw rent prices rise by between 3 and 3,5 percent. 

On a provincial level, prices in North Holland have experienced the sharpest increase (3,4 percent), followed by Utrecht (3,3 percent) and South Holland (3 percent). Perhaps unsurprisingly, rent prices in Friesland and Drenthe experience the smallest change, rising by “only” 2 percent.

Cost of buying a house in the Netherlands continues to rise

It isn’t only the rental market that’s seeing prices climb at a record-breaking rate - prices on the Dutch housing market also continue to soar. According to figures published by CBS at the end of August, the average price of buying a house in the Netherlands was 8,6 percent higher at the start of 2022 than it was a year earlier. 

As of January of this year, the average value of a home was 315.000 euros - the highest price ever recorded in the Netherlands. While the provinces of North Holland and Utrecht are home to the highest values (391.000 and 383.00 euros respectively), Flevoland, Groningen, and Friesland were the provinces to see the sharpest increase in house values. Of the big cities, values in Rotterdam increased the most (11,4 percent).

Thumb: Ralf Liebhold via Shutterstock.