Rents rise 3.6 percent across Netherlands; Prices dip in Rotterdam
Rent increases are leveling off in the Netherlands, particularly in the large cities, according to the newest rent monitor by housing platform Pararius. Nationwide, the average rent per square meter increased by 3.6 percent in the third quarter, compared to the same quarter last year. Utrecht is the only of the four large cities where rents increased by more than 5 percent. In Rotterdam, rent prices even decreased.
Pararius describes the national rent increase as "moderate", especially given the developments on the purchase market. The Dutch association of realtors recently reported that the average selling price of owner-occupied homes increased by 7.2 percent in the third quarter. Compared to this, a 3.6 percent average rent increase is low. The national average rent increase hasn't topped 5 percent since the second quarter of 2018.
Rent increases are slowing down in most of the large cities, as prospective tenants increasingly turn to medium-sized municipalities around the big cities for more affordable housing, according to Pararius.
In Amsterdam, rents increased by 2.8 percent to 23.46 euros per square meter. In nearby Hoofddorp, rents jumped 17.5 percent, compared to the third quarter last year. Despite this big increase, the average rent in Hoofddorp is still over 6 euros per square meter cheaper than in Amsterdam. A tenant in Hoofddorp will pay an average of 1,329 euros per month for a free sector home of 75 square meters. In Amsterdam the same home costs an average of 1,760 euros.
In The Hague, the average rent per square meter increased by 2.1 percent to 16,24 euros. In nearby Delft, the increase was 10.2 percent and the average rent per square meter is now higher than in The Hague at 16.61 euros. Zoetermeer saw a rent increase of 11.2 percent to 11.77 euros, and Leiden rents increased 6 percent to 18 euros per square meter.
Rotterdam saw the average rent decrease by 3.4 percent to 15.94 euros per square meter. This price decrease is mainly borne by Rotterdam city center, where prices fell by over 9.2 percent o 18.99 euros per square meter per month. In Rotterdam suburbs like Charlois, Prince-Alexander, and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, rents are still rising.
"The moderate price increases in most large cities seems to suggest that a price cap has now been reached", Pararius said. But this is not the case in Utrecht, the second most expensive Dutch city to live in after Amsterdam. In the third quarter, rents in Utrecht rose by 8.6 percent to 18 euros per square meter per month.
