The house where football legend Johan Cruijff grew up in Amsterdam has come up for rent - but only a low income family need apply. The three bedroom ground floor flat is owned by housing cooperation Ymere and costs €709.68 a month, just one euro under the limit for the rent-controlled sector. The home of the footballer, who died two years ago, is located in the Akkerstraat in Betondorp and the house has big low windows because Cruijff’s parents ran a fruit and vegetable shop from the premises. The windows are now decorated with images of the player, so it would be best if prospective renters are fans of the player, the Parool pointed out. There were plans to turn the house into a museum to the legendary Ajax player but Cruijff himself rejected that idea. Students have lived in the house since 2013 while Ymere decided what to do with it. Now people with an income of below €36,798 can apply to live in the corner property. Social housing website Woningnet describes the house as ‘a nice ground floor flat with a big garden’ and says small families are priority tenants. More >
Micro-apartments movement big hit in NL
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 >
