Record numbers of homes were created from vacant office space in the Amsterdam metropolitan region last year, the Telegraaf reported on Tuesday.

Vacant office space in the area totalled 500,000 m2 last year, of which more than half has now been transformed into residential space.

The amount of vacant office space in 2017 was at a record high: in 2016 the total was 333,000 m2, down from 348,000 m2 in 2015.

The Amsterdam metropolitan region comprises 33 local authorities, the so-called Amsterdam transport region and the provinces of Noord-Holland and Flevoland. It encompasses the area between IJmuiden and Lelystad and from Purmerend to the Haarlemmermeer.