Housing construction at highest level in decade; Still 26% below gov't target

Last year, the number of new homes completed was the highest in ten years. The number of new homes increased particularly sharply in Amsterdam and Zuid-Holland, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. But it was still well below the Cabinet’s target of 100,000 new homes per year.

In total, over 74,000 new homes were created in the Netherlands last year, an increase of 0.9 percent. Adjusted for the number of homes that have disappeared, the Dutch housing stock amounted to about 8.1 million homes in 2022, according to CBS.

Of the Dutch cities, Amsterdam acquired the most homes at almost 6,800. As a result, the total number of homes in the capital increased by 1.5 percent to around 475,000. Utrecht, The Hague, and Rotterdam each added over 2,000 homes.

Zuid-Holland scored best at a provincial level. Over 14,500 homes were built there. Noord-Holland came second (around 14,000), followed by Noord-Brabant (12,000). The strongest percentage increase was in Flevoland at 1.6 percent. CBS attributed this to, among other things, the strong population growth in that province in the past year.

The Economic Institute for Construction (EIB) reported last week that it expects fewer homes to be delivered this year and next, probably around 70,000. Increased costs of building materials and higher interest rates will slow down construction. There is also a shortage of suitable construction sites, as well as too few civil servants to handle building permit applications.

That is bad news for Minister Hugo de Jonge of Housing and Spatial Planning. He wants 100,000 new homes per year to solve the housing crisis.