Rental housing sector shrinks as landlords sell more homes

Investors sold 15,800 homes between July and September, up 37% on the same period last year. They bought just 6,000. In total, the private rental sector has shrunk by 11% or 35,000 homes over the past two years.

More than half of the homes sold went to buyers who plan to live in them. The Kadaster said these buyers benefited from lower prices, often because ex-rental homes require substantial work and tend to be smaller. On average, properties sold by investors went for almost €130,000 less than other homes.

The increase in ex-rental homes coming onto the market is positive for first-time buyers, said Kadaster researcher Matthieu Zuidema. because it gives them a better chance of entering the housing market.

At the same time, the supply of rental housing is falling, making the search for a place to live harder for prospective tenants.

The decline in investor-owned homes is most visible in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. This, the land registry office says, is primarily down to new rent controls on many smaller properties.

“In the four major cities, many landlords were charging above the new limit. Outside the big cities that is far less common,” Zuidema told broadcaster NOS.

New tax rules are also playing a role across the country. Changes to the box 3 wealth tax have also made investing in rental property less attractive.

“A lot of student housing is being sold, and the homes that disappear are not replaced by the same types of properties,” Zuidema said. “A house that was previously lived in by four students might be converted into several small studios or a different type of home.”