Private sector losing more rentals to owner-occupied market; Rents up 5.2% last quarter

Of all homes offered for sale in the past quarter, 7 percent came from the private sector market, housing platform Pararius reported. And as the supply declines, private sector rents continue to rise, increasing by 5.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the year before. In four of the five large cities, the square meter price rose much more than the national average.

“For a long time, approximately 3 to 4 percent of the homes for sale came from the private sector rental market, but this percentage has increased sharply since the fourth quarter of 2022,” Pararius director Jasper de Groot said. “We have been hearing from the market for some time that more and more private investors are deciding not to re-let their vacant rental property but to sell it. Our research shows that it is indeed the case.”

The supply of private sector rentals decreased throughout the Netherlands. The number of available private sector rentals dropped by 31.7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2022. And each available property got an average of 26 responses from home seekers. “The combined visitor data from Pararius and our sister company Huurwoningen.nl shows that the average number of responses to individual rental properties has increased sharply in recent years. The pressure on available private sector rental properties is increasing, especially in the large cities,” De Groot said.

That is also reflected in the rent increases. In four of the five large cities, private sector rents increased by much more than the national average of 5.2 percent. In Amsterdam, new tenants paid 27,32 euros per square meter, 8.2 percent more than last year's third quarter. In The Hague, free sector rents increased by 7.2 percent to 19.14 euros per square meter, In Rotterdam by 9.3 percent to 20.35 euros, and in Eindhoven by 5.4 percent to 18.36 euros. In Utrecht, rents remained relatively stable at 20.35 euros per square meter, 0.6 percent more than a year earlier.

The square meter price in all five large cities was above the national average of 17.77 euros in the third quarter.

Pararius worries that the rental supply in the private sector will continue to shrink. “Partly because renting is becoming less and less attractive due to the accumulation of government measures for landlords,” De Groot said. “The rental properties are sold to private owner-occupiers, further reducing the supply in the private sector - which was already so limited.”