One-third of new Amsterdam homes are social housing, report shows

Slightly more than one-third of all new homes completed in Amsterdam last year were social housing units built by housing corporations, according to newly released annual figures from corporations across the Amsterdam metropolitan region. According to Het Parool, the housing stock of corporations in Amsterdam and nearby municipalities grew by over 2,400 homes last year, a larger increase driven by higher construction.

Housing corporations in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region (Metropoolregio Amsterdam, or MRA) have been cooperating for three years under the Platform Corporaties Metropoolregio Amsterdam (PCMRA), which aims to boost and accelerate the construction of affordable housing across the region.

Amsterdam saw the largest net increase in the region, adding 733 homes in 2024. Although more than 2,000 homes were constructed in the city, more than 700 were also demolished — a much higher number than in earlier years. In addition, nearly 600 corporation-owned homes were sold, a decline compared to 2022 and 2023. Housing corporations in the Amsterdam region collectively rent out nearly 400,000 homes, though their overall market share has been gradually shrinking for years.

Of the 4,248 new homes built by corporations in the region, 4,041 were social rental units. Across the MRA, 29 percent of all newly built homes were social housing from corporations, while in Amsterdam that share reached 34 percent.

The share of social housing varies significantly by subregion, ranging from 10 percent in Amstelland Meerlanden to 42 percent in Zuid-Kennemerland/IJmond. In half of the 30 municipalities within the MRA, no new corporation-owned homes were delivered in 2024.

The corporations also reportedly continue to improve the energy efficiency of their housing stock, primarily by better insulating homes with high energy consumption.

The annual report shows that 61 percent of corporation-owned homes are now classified as very energy-efficient, with an A or B energy label. Only 8 percent of homes still have a poor energy label of E, F, or G — a steadily declining share.