Housing - DutchNews.nl

House prices rose nearly 12% last year, smaller towns in greater demand

Nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, house prices continue to rise and were up nearly 12% year on year at the end of December. The increase was most modest in Amsterdam, where average prices rose 3.4% over the year, and was strongest – 22% – in the town of Hardenberg, near the German border, according to new figures from real estate agents association NVM. In Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, house prices rose by 12% to 15%. Real estate agents... More >

Housing chiefs want rules to stop excesses

Six Dutch cities which have signed agreements with housing minister Kajsa Ollengren on boosting the supply of affordable homes in their regions say they do not have enough legal options to stop ‘excesses’, the NRC said on Tuesday. In particular, cities say they lack the power to ban high rent increases outside the rent-controlled housing sector and measures to force people to live in the homes they buy and so scare off private investors. In some cities, officials have banned... More >

Mortgage requests top half a million

Home owners and new buyers made over half a million mortgage requests last year, a new record, according to mortgage information network HDN. The total is up nearly 25% on 2019 at 535,375 applications, HDN said. Nearly all mortgage providers in the Netherlands are part of the HDN network. The biggest leap is in requests for new or extended mortgages to cover home improvements, which were up by 50%. Low interest rates also prompted a record number of home owners... More >

Housing market problems hit expat tenants

Despite claims that expats with unlimited budgets are driving up rents and house prices, many earn so little they would qualify for social housing it if was available, according to the results of a new survey by the International Community Advisory Platform. While 43% of the 1,668 survey respondents said they had gross household income of more than €5,000 a month, 25% had an income of less than €3,000 a month – which means they are entitled to live in... More >

Mortgages rise to build home offices

The number of people taking out new mortgages, or extending current ones, to renovate their homes has soared nearly 50% this year, according to mortgage advisory group De Hypotheker. The shortage of homes for sale and increase in home working means more people are investing in their own property, De Hypotheker says. In particular younger home owners, aged 35 to 45, are putting more money into home improvements. Often the money is being spent on an extension or creating an... More >

New Feyenoord stadium is a step nearer

The development of a new stadium for Rotterdam football club Feyenoord has come a step closer now the city council has approved the zoning plan for the Feyenoord City project. The project, which involves the €1.5bn redevelopment of the stadium and riverbank area, has sharply divided the council, with the local coalition backing the development and the opposition against. Building a replacement for the current Kuip stadium will cost €444m and a final decision on that part of the project... More >

Deadline looms for cheap energy labels

Over half of privately owned homes in the Netherlands do not yet have an energy label and only have a few more weeks to get a cheap one, the AD reported on Thursday. From January 1, home owners can only get an energy label by employing an authorised certification company to visit, and that will cost around €200, the AD said. At the moment, online labels are available via central government, which cost around €10 and which are valid for... More >

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