Amsterdam-area residents spending large portions of income on housing costs
The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA) has become increasingly expensive in the past two years, and residents are spending a larger portion of their income on housing costs. This is mainly due to a mismatch between homes and residents. The Amsterdam region has many more low-income households than homes available for this group, so many end up renting a more expensive home than they can easily afford, according to the bi-annual Living in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area study (WiMRA 2025).
The study showed that construction in the region is still struggling to meet demand. The region has a persistent excess of overpriced housing. And the private rental sector has stagnated, after years of growth.
According to the WiMRA 2025, 44 percent of households in the MRA have low incomes. The share of affordable housing in the housing stock is significantly lower at 36 percent. Low-income households rely on social housing, but are increasingly forced to live in mid-range rentals.
The same applies to middle-income households in the region, if to a lesser extent. 15 percent of the region’s households fall into this category, while only 12 percent of homes fall into their price class. At the same time, 52 percent of AMR homes are expensive, while only 41 percent of households can afford them.
In 2025, after deducting housing allowance, tenants spent an average of 27 percent of their net income on rent alone, about the same as in 2023. Homeowners spend an average of 16 percent of their income on mortgage payments, after tax deductions. For households that bought a home in the past two years, the average is 25 percent.
For tenants in the social housing sector, housing affordability has improved since 2023. Last year, social housing tenants spent 31 percent of their income on housing costs - rent plus things like energy and service costs. In 2023, that was 34 percent. “That’s good news for our tenants,” said Anne-Jo Visser of PCMRA, the platform for housing corporations in the region. “At the same time, it’s disappointing that there’s still a shortage of social housing, forcing some low-income earners to pay excessive rents.”
In 2024, approximately 14,000 homes were added to the housing stock in the AMR, more than in 2023, but less than in the two previous years.
Between 2023 and 2025, approximately 20,000 homes were added to the owner-occupied market, a growth of 3.5 percent. At the same time, the growth in the private rental segment stagnated. This is likely due to the introduction of the Affordable Rent Act, which regulates mid-market rentals and triggered a mass sell-off by landlords and private investors.
Last year, the three cities with the most expensive residential real estate transactions on average were all located in the greater Amsterdam region. Blaricum homes sold on average for nearly 1.11 million euros, more than 1.02 million euros in Bloemendaal, and roughly 978,000 euros in Laren, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Three more Amsterdam-area municipalities were in the top ten. Properties in Heemstede, Gooise Meren, and Landsmeer sold on average for 700,000 to 800,000 euros. Amsterdam also has the most expensive homes on the market among the largest cities in the country, with a 2025 average transaction price of nearly 631,000 euros.
The MRA is made up of 30 municipalities in total, from Zandvoort in the west to Lelystad in the east, and from Purmerend in the north to Aalsmeer and Wijdemeren to the south. The area also covers Almere, Haarlem, Haarlemmermeer, Hilversum, and Zandvoort.
