Dutch housing market remains tight despite surge in rental home sales

Economists at Rabobank conclude that the Dutch housing market is still tight, even though the sale of rental homes by investors has substantially increased the supply.

Rabobank forecasts average house price increases of 8.8 percent this year, 4.8 percent in 2026, and 5.5 percent in 2027. The quarterly housing report notes that “as house prices rise faster than wages under collective labor agreements, buying a home is becoming less affordable.”

Over the first nine months of this year, over 30,000 more homes were listed for sale than in the same period last year, a 19 percent rise. Rabobank notes that “this has eased the price growth of existing homes.”

The increase is largely driven by the “phasing out” of former rental homes. Landlords are increasingly selling properties when leases expire, as new laws make it barely profitable to re-rent them.

For some time, real estate experts have urged the repeal of the rental law introduced by former housing minister Hugo de Jonge. Though designed to protect tenants, the law has reportedly backfired, worsening the shortage of private rental homes.

Stricter regulations and lower returns have driven many investors away from the rental market, reducing the supply of mid-range rental homes while demand grows. Caretaker housing minister Mona Keijzer now plans to ease the rules to stop even more rental properties from disappearing from the market.