Foreign buyers show little interest in price Amsterdam real estate

Expensive Amsterdam real estate is of little interest to foreign buyers so far, according to a study by the municipality. Of the 2,411 Amsterdam homes worth over 1 million euros sold since 1990, only 2 percent ended up with foreigners, Het Parool reports. In 2014, the most recent figures available, 165 homes worth over a million were sold in the city. Six of them went to foreign buyers. On January 1st of last year, 115 of these expensive properties stood empty, nine of which belong to foreigners. The study was conducted after Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan expressed concern that his city will end up like London - where some neighborhoods are turning into ghost towns due to rich foreigners buying properties but hardly staying in them. According to the college of mayor and aldermen, this study shows that Amsterdam turning into a ghost town like London is not yet on the cards, but the possibility cannot be excluded completely. The city is attractive to foreign investors because of its relatively low real estate prices and strong investment climate. So far most of the vacant expensive properties are concentrated in the western part of the Grachtengordel, the Harlemmerbuurt, Vondlepark, Zuidas, Willemspark, Museumkwartier and Stadionbuurt. The city council plans to address these vacancies as soon as possible