Record apartment sales last year as landlords ditch rentals
Landlords selling their rentals into the owner-occupied market led to a record number of apartment sales last year. These former rentals are typically cheaper than the other homes in the housing market and attract mainly first-time buyers. As a result, the number of buyers under the age of 35 has also never been higher, NU.nl reported based on figures from the Kadaster, the Dutch Land Registry.
Apartment sales rose by almost 25 percent last year compared to the year before. In the fourth quarter of last year, a record 67,200 homes were sold. Besides apartments, these included more terraced homes and townhouses than in previous years.
The increased home sales are mainly due to investors and landlords selling their rental properties. Rent regulation for mid-market properties and several tax changes have made renting out less profitable. When tenants move, it is more attractive for landlords to sell their properties, especially given the rising home prices.
“Investors made 15 percent of all home sales in the first nine months of last year,’ Matthieu Zuidema of the Kadaster told the newspaper. Without the rental sell-off, 2025 would have been a very typical year for the housing market, he said.
Because former rentals tend to sell for less than other homes - third-quarter figures show landlords sold their properties for an average of €384,000 each, while the average home price was around €500,000 - the sell-off depressed home prices slightly. This was particularly noticeable in Noord-Holland. Home prices in Amsterdam rose only by 3.6 percent last year. In Drenthe, where the rental market is smaller, home prices rose by 11 percent.
The average home price last year was almost €500,000. According to the Land Registry, that would get you an apartment of less than 60 square meters in Amsterdam. In the more affordable municipalities, you can still buy a detached or semi-detached house averaging at 170 square meters for €500,000.
