Housing rental prices on the free market rising again

The rental prices of homes in the free sector are rising again compared to a year earlier, housing platform Pararius concluded from the rental properties on its site. According to the organization, this will end a period of price declines caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Last quarter, tenants paid an average of 2.5 percent more per square meter than a year ago. In the previous four quarters, this figure declined. In particular, the absence of expats during the coronavirus pandemic resulted in lower prices, researchers thought at the time. Due to travel restrictions and the switch to working from home, far fewer expats came to the Netherlands than before.

According to Pararius director Jasper de Groot, the expat market has now picked up again. "This, together with the already existing scarcity of private sector rental housing, is the basis of the recent prince increase," he said.

The capital is still the most expensive city to rent a house in, according to Pararius. Rents in Amsterdam rose by 1.6 percent in the past quarter. New tenants generally had to pay 22.44 euros per square meter per month. Rents also rose in other large cities like Rotterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, and Utrecht. Of these cities, Eindhoven was the cheapest city with an average square meter price of 14.85 euros.