Amsterdam tops most expensive rental market; sharpest rent drop in Eindhoven

The newly launched National Rental Index revealed significant shifts in residential rental prices across the Netherlands, highlighting Amsterdam as the most expensive municipality and Eindhoven as the city with the steepest drop in rental prices. The index, released by Rent.nl, measures price differences per square meter between the third quarter of 2023 and 2024.

Amsterdam continues to lead the Dutch rental market with an average price of 25.80 euro per square meter. Utrecht follows at 21.70 euro per square meter, while Haarlem ranks third at 20.90 euro per square meter. Bart Kappenburg, founder of Rent.nl, noted, “These figures reflect the persistent pressure on urban rental markets, where demand remains extraordinarily high.”

The National Rental Index aggregates data from over 90 percent of the rental market, pulling information from real estate agents, online platforms, social media, and marketplaces. The index provides quarterly updates and raw datasets accessible to policymakers and journalists for deeper analysis.

At the other end of the spectrum, the municipalities of Emmen and Delfzijl recorded the lowest average rents at 8.20 euro and 8.50 euro per square meter, respectively. Despite rising demand in some regions, smaller towns like Emmen maintain affordable pricing, driven by lower population density and fewer competing interests from international tenants.

The fastest-growing rents were seen in smaller municipalities such as Amstelveen, where prices surged by 14 percent compared to the same quarter last year. This sharp rise is attributed to its proximity to Amsterdam and increased demand from expats.

Eindhoven experienced the steepest drop, with average rents falling by 9.5 percent to 13.80 euro per square meter. Kappenburg explained, “Eindhoven's rental market is adjusting after years of rapid growth, with newly completed housing developments easing supply constraints.”