Rents skyrocket in Rotterdam & Eindhoven; still rising in Amsterdam

Free sector rents in the Netherlands continue to rise. In Rotterdam and Eindhoven they rose even faster than in Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague over the past two quarters, according to figures rental platform Pararius released on Tuesday, ANP reports.

Rotterdam showed the strongest growth of the five large Dutch cities. Last quarter rents in Rotterdam were 14.3 percent higher than in the same quarter last year. Eindhoven saw an increase of 12.1 percent. Tenants in Rotterdam now pay an average of 16.50 euros per square meter per month, and those in Eindhoven 14.62 euros.

In Amsterdam, where the rental ceiling has seemed to be in sight for some time, rents are still rising. But the increase is moderate compared to Rotterdam and Eindhoven at 3.5 percent. In the Dutch capital tenants pay an average of 22.83 euros per square meter.

Rents also continued to increase outside the Randstad. Nationally prices went up by 5.3 percent to 16.04 euros per square meter per month.

"The pressure on the housing market is spreading like an oil slick across the Netherlands", Pararius director Jasper de Groot said. "First the prices rose in Amsterdam, which led people to areas like Haarlem and Alkmaar. Now the entire region around Amsterdam is so expensive that many house hunters are forced to rent outside the region.