Half of young Dutch adults fear they won’t find a rental home as competition intensifies
More than half of Dutch renters ages 18 to 34 fear they will not find a rental home because of high rents and growing competition among house-hunters, as the supply of available housing continues to shrink, De Telegraaf reported, citing data from the European rental platform HousingAnywhere, the parent company of Kamernet.
“In today’s highly competitive rental market, it is difficult for tenants to stand out among the many candidates,” said Jim Bijwaard of HousingAnywhere.
Among young adults currently searching for a rental home, 78 percent worry their budget is not enough to cover current prices. That share is slightly above the European average of 73 percent, which HousingAnywhere says signals that the Dutch rental market requires extra attention.
Dutch young people have also sharply adjusted their expectations for a rental home. For 60 percent, affordability is the top priority. Another 30 percent say a good public-transport connection is essential, while 25 percent say neighborhood safety matters.
“To ease pressure on the Dutch rental market, more affordable supply is needed,” Bijwaard added. “That’s why we support measures such as easing rules on splitting homes, which can increase supply in the short term.”
Investor sell-offs are also rising. In the four largest cities, about 12,500 private rental homes have already disappeared from the market.
Another red flag is the level of rents in major Dutch cities, which stand out even across Europe. Amsterdam leads the list with an average rent of 2,550 euros a month for an apartment, followed by Rotterdam at 2,000 euros. Those figures place the Dutch cities ahead of Rome (1,950 euros), Paris (1,870 euros) and Berlin (1,690 euros).
The real-estate association NVM said Friday that affiliated agents rented out only 3,400 private-sector homes last quarter. The reduced supply is due in part to landlords selling their properties as soon as tenants move out, citing new strict rental laws and falling returns, De Telegraaf reported. Many tenants also stay put longer because they have no suitable alternatives.
