One in ten Friesland homes sold to Randstad residents

One in ten owner-occupied houses in the province of Friesland was bought by people from the Randstad last year, NOS reported on Wednesday based on research from the Kadaster, the Dutch land registry.

Out of 7,233 houses sold in Friesland last year, buyers from outside the province purchased 1,419. The preferred locations were villages and the outskirts of Leeuwarden and Súdwest-Fryslân, with the eastern part of Friesland being less popular.

The trend of Randstad residents moving to Friesland was already noticeable from 2009 to 2021 but has recently intensified, with 20 percent of homes bought by non-locals last year, up from 12 percent.

According to Frisian deputy Sijbe Knol who spoke with Omrop Fryslân, these newcomers are often 25-34-year-olds, including starters and young families, drawn by the tranquility, space, and affordability.

"In a quarter of the cases, it involves Frisians returning to their province. “You see people who have left Friesland for a while to study. When they get older and have children, they often want to return to the place where they grew up,” Knol noted.

Whether it is Randstad residents or Frisians coming back, the influx is primarily young adults, which Knol views as positive, because it counterbalances the region’s population aging. "Starters and young families can help keep the associations and the community afloat,” he remarked.

Kadaster data also indicates that last year, 577 households left Friesland, with most relocating to Drenthe or Groningen.