Fewer new homes built last year despite housing shortage

The Netherlands completed fewer newly built homes last year than a year earlier, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The Netherlands is still struggling with a massive housing shortage, and first-time buyers on the housing market are having great difficulty finding a home.

In total, over 73,000 newly built homes were completed last year. That is slightly less than in 2022 when 75,000 new homes were built - the highest number in ten years.

A significant cause for the decrease is the slow issuing of permits for construction sites by municipalities and provinces. From 2019 to 2021, the number of housing construction permits increased, but the figure has been falling since then.

Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge previously expressed the ambition to complete 100,000 new homes per year to solve the housing shortage. For 2023, the target was 90,000.

That concerned not only new construction but also homes created by converting office buildings and dividing existing homes, for example. If these are also included, the Netherlands created over 88,000 homes last year.

“Despite all the headwinds, the number of new homes added in the past year has remained stable. With just under 90,000 new homes, there are almost as many as the year before,” De Jonge said in a response.

However, he must admit that the prospects are not very rosy. “Due to the economic conditions of recent years - the increased interest and construction costs - we expect a dip in new construction for 2024 and 2025,” said De Jonge. “The construction assignment remains large. From 2022 to 2030, the assignment is calculated at 981,000 homes, of which almost 189,000 have now been added. Still over 800,000 to go.”