Retail shift: big stores decline as vacant spaces become housing

Fewer stores have opened or been sold in Dutch shopping streets this year. NVM Business reports that in the first nine months, properties over 2,000 square meters saw the largest decline in usage. On the other hand, the first half of 2025 saw increased sales of retail spaces between 500 and 1,000 square meters, a consequence of Blokker’s bankruptcy last year.

In the first three quarters of this year, 480,000 square meters of retail space came into use, 5 percent less than during the same period last year, according to the real estate organization. The number of properties sold also dropped by 3 percent, reaching 2,159.

NVM notes that certain stores sold or leased following a bankruptcy are finding new owners or tenants unusually fast. Retail chains like HEMA, Wibra, and Van Haren have acquired former Blokker sites, and the properties left by the bankrupt Carpetright are attracting considerable interest.

According to the real estate association, properties in areas with fewer stores and in smaller shopping streets tend to stay empty much longer following a bankruptcy or closure. National chains pull out, and independent retailers often find it difficult to find someone to take over.

NVM reports that more and more empty retail spaces are being transformed into homes, as part of efforts to tackle the housing shortage in the Netherlands. This includes long-vacant former V&D buildings.

Since 2022, 5,000 new homes have been created from former retail properties, supported by a government initiative to revitalize shopping areas. NVM hopes that a new government will expand the program to renovate even more shopping districts.