Renting a home in Rotterdam is now slightly more expensive than in The Hague, according to the latest quarterly report by housing platform Pararius.

The average rent for new contracts in the port city has gone up 12.65% over the past 12 months, taking the average price per square metre to €15.82 per square metre, 17 cents more than The Hague. But in Rotterdam city centre, prices are now approaching Amsterdam levels, with an average rent of €19.42 per square metre, the Pararius figures show.

Amsterdam remains the most expensive place to rent a home, with new contract rents averaging at €22.79 per m2 – or just under €1,500 for a 65 square metre flat – but the annual rise is a more modest 2.3%.

‘Rotterdam is becoming increasingly popular and is more often being seen as an alternative to Amsterdam,’ said Pararius director Jasper de Groot. ‘That is boosting the demand for rental properties and, correspondingly, the rent.’

Prices have also risen over 8% in Nijmegen, Enschede, Den Bosch, Eindhoven and Tilburg, De Groot said.

Rents have actually fallen slightly in Friesland and Drenthe. New tenants in the two northern provinces can now expect to pay just under €9 per square metre for a private sector rental, less than half the price in Noord-Holland, where the average rent is €20.66 per m2.