Eindhoven will need 20,000 more homes by 2030 to accommodate ASML growth

Eindhoven will have to quickly adapt its housing construction plans to accommodate ASML’s planned growth in the city, Eindhovens Dagblad reports based on new research. The city will need almost 20,000 more homes by 2030 than previously thought, and its current focus on social and affordable housing will have to go because the highly educated, well-paid employees ASML attracts are looking for other homes.

Last week, Eindhoven gave ASML the go-ahead to build a new campus and attract 20,000 new employees to the city. On Tuesday evening, research agency Companen sent its first, tentative findings of what this will mean for the city to the Eindhoven city council.

According to the research, ASML’s growth plans will create 80,000 additional jobs—20,000 at the company and the rest at suppliers and in other industries. Of these workers, 55 to 60 percent will settle in Eindhoven, the rest in the region. Companen expects that 70 percent of knowledge migrants will come alone, and only 15 percent will bring a family.

If Eindhoven also wants to catch up on its existing housing shortage, it will need to build roughly double the homes it planned in the coming years. Eindhoven had almost 120,000 homes last year. By 2030, that should be over 160,000, according to the study. That means building 5,500 new homes every year. The city’s current ambition is 3,000 per year, and it is far from practically achievable. Last year, 1,380 new homes were built in Eindhoven.

Compared to other cities, Eindhoven has a relatively large number of single-family homes. The demand for cheap housing will be less great in the future than expected. There is also a mismatch between the type of housing currently being built. Housing associations are mainly building rental apartments, while there is a shortage of family homes.

Researcher Pim Tiggeloven stressed the potential of home sharing. He expects that single people will be happy to share living space or settle for small living spaces in or close to the city center if there are enough facilities nearby. For families, he wonders whether a house with a garden is still realistic as an ideal. However, he added that a spacious family apartment in the city center comes with a “hefty price tag.”

Companen also spoke to project developers, real estate agents, and companies for the study. Even these parties, who benefit from the arrival of well-paid knowledge migrants, have concerns, researcher Tiggeloven said. “You don’t have to worry about foreign employees. They will find their way. They have money and are smart enough. Note that real estate agents point out that it will be difficult for local home seekers to find a place.”

The government promised the Eindhoven region extra money for housing construction through Operation Beethoven, the hastily launched operation to keep ASML in the Netherlands. According to the municipality, it is already clear that this extra money will not be enough.

Companen will complete its study next month, and the city council will discuss the consequences for the city’s plans and policy after the summer.