Netherlands housing shortage to reduce somewhat in coming years

In the coming years, the construction backlog on the number of homes in the Netherlands will be partially made up, according to a forecast by Statistics Netherlands and the Netherlands environmental assessment agency PBL. But it will likely not be enough to eliminate the existing housing shortage completely, the Telegraaf reports.

The number of households in the Netherlands is expected to grow less rapidly in the coming years. And as a result, the number of homes built will be higher than the extra demand for new homes, according to the statisticians. That will already start this year. But after 2025, the annual construction of new homes will again be lower than the growth in the number of households. From now up till and including 2045, the growth in the number of households and the number of newly built homes will come out at about the same. 

There are major regional differences when it comes to the housing shortage. In Groningen, for example, more homes will be demolished than built from 2030 onwards, reducing the housing stock. In Friesland and Drenthe, new construction and demolition will be balanced in 2040. Zeeland and Limburg will also see a stop in their net increase of homes between 2030 and 2040.

The other provinces will continue to build more homes than demolishing old ones, with the housing stock in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland increasing the most. The major cities will also work hard on increasing their housing supply up until and including 2025. In Amsterdam, the period of growth in the number of homes will even last until 2040, the statisticians expect.