Project developers are rolling out complexes of micro-apartments in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and even Leidsche Rijn near Utrecht in an effort to head off the shortage of homes for newcomers on the housing market, the Telegraaf said on Monday. Micro-apartments usually measure between 29m2 and 32m2, or the size of a large master bedroom in a more traditional home. Nevertheless, all are equipped with a kitchen, toilet and shower and come complete with shared facilities such as a launderette, cafe and even guest accommodation. IC Netherlands, for example, has just delivered two enormous complexes for students and starters in Amsterdam: Little Manhattan and De Spartaan which have more than 1,200 micro-apartments. The company has just started work on Don Bosco in Amsterdam-West which will have 429 units for young professionals. Cobana with 385 micro-apartments is underway in Rotterdam. Could a custom made tiny house could be your affordable new home? De Lofts, now being built in Amsterdam’s Amstelkwartier, will have 212 living units of just 32 m2, but more than 1,000 signed up when the project went public. And some 10,000 people expressed interest when property developer Change announced its second micro-apartment complex with 596 units in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. While Change develops projects for the social rental market most micro-apartments are rented out for above the €710 rent-controlled threshold. IC's micro-homes, for example, cost €885 a month, including service costs, heating and internet. Last year there was a major row in Amsterdam when it emerged a private developer was renting out a complex of 120 apartments of some 30 m2 in Noord for €1,250 each. The city council had originally approved the development for student accommodation. Do you live in a micro-apartment? We'd like to hear from you: email editor@dutchnews.nl More >
House prices in The Hague soar 24%
House prices in The Hague soared 24% over the past 12 months, as expats start buying rather than renting homes, the Dutch estate agents' association NVM said on Thursday in a new report on the housing market. 'Supply in The Hague region is nowhere near enough to meet the demand,' NVM director Ger Jaarsma said in a statement. NVM estate agents meet an increasing number of expats at house viewings and in central areas they account for 40% to 50% of visitors, the NVM said. In addition, small-time investors have woken up to the housing potential in The Hague and are snapping up one in five homes in the city to rent out privately, the NVM says. The price of the average Dutch home rose by 10% over the past year, while apartments were 16% more expensive, the NVM figures show. In Rotterdam, by contrast, house prices are up 15% and in Amsterdam, where the market is seriously overheated, they rose by 13.5% over the year. More >
House prices set to soar again in 2018
House prices in the Netherlands are set to soar a further 8% this year, as the squeeze on the supply side continues, according to economists at ABN Amro bank. The shortage of homes for sale pushed sales in the first three months of this year above the forecast 6% and reached 9.5% in February, the bank's research shows. Average house prices are now approaching the level reached before the economic crisis hit in 2008, the bank said. That level was surpassed in Amsterdam and other popular places last year. The bank also expects the number of homes offered for sale to fall 5% this year and again by the same amount in 2019. 'The housing market is under pressure. Buyers have less choice because fewer homes are coming on the market. So they are offering higher prices in an effort to buy a home,' economist Philip Bokeloh said. The Dutch housing market plunged into a prolonged slump after the 2008 financial crisis and recovery started only in 2013. Present-day prices are now about 25% higher than the all-time low in the market 4.5 years ago, the national statistics office CBS said last month. More >
