Housing

Introduction

Amsterdam's housing market is becoming increasingly congested and overheated while the number of settlers / newcomers remains high

Paradox: Large influx while housing market is completely closed

Housing accessibility in the Netherlands has never been so low , headlined Vastgoedjournaal in November 2021*. The accessibility of the city is at risk, warns the Council for the Living Environment and Infrastructure in its report Access to the City**.

This is even more the case in Amsterdam. A short sketch:

Nowhere in Europe are the rental prices of apartments, rooms and studios as high as in Amsterdam. According to the International Rent Index, the average rental price of an apartment in Amsterdam is €2,275 p/m, for a studio it is €1,740 p/m and for a room €963 p/m (HousingAnywhere, 2024)
The average sales price of a home in the period October 2023 - October 2024 was 785,117 euros. (Land Registry 2 October 2024).
94% of owner-occupied homes in Amsterdam are only suitable for high incomes (Wia 2023)
Within the entire housing stock of Amsterdam, rental and purchase, the expensive part has almost doubled in 10 years: from 23% in 2013 to 42.4% in 2023 (WiA 2023)
Due to the introduction of a new system of housing allocation for social housing, the number of applicants has increased from 100,00 per year to 122,500 in 2023. (AFWC 2024)
Due to the same new allocation system, the registration period for social housing has decreased from 13 years to 11.0 years. (AFWC 2024)

But at the same time, the influx of newcomers to Amsterdam has only grown from 2015 to 2021, to the highest numbers ever. With the exception of the corona year 2020.

The accessibility of the city has never been better , it seems:

Apparently the housing market can be locked and the city can still take in large numbers of newcomers.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Where will these newcomers live, will they find shelter? (neighborhoods, residential sectors)

The large number of new settlers is only possible if large numbers of people also leave the city. The table below shows how many people have left Amsterdam in recent years.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Who is leaving the city? Who can no longer continue to live in the city (occupational groups, age, neighbourhoods)? For the poor position of teachers on the Amsterdam housing market, see:

RESEARCH QUESTION

What kind of housing contracts do the newcomers have and is it correct that they are largely on temporary housing contracts that expire after a few years?

People can settle in the city, but they also have to leave as quickly as possible. To make room for new influx?

How does the sorting machine work?

Overview and background of all owners of residential complexes for newcomers

Who realizes affordable rents (in the social sector, up to €880) and who rents in the private sector (above €880)?
Who is making money from the large influx of newcomers in Amsterdam?
Does the money go to non-profit organizations that spend it on affordable housing, or to the shareholders?

- De Key is the former SSHA, Amsterdam Student Housing Foundation. Non-profit organisation; housing Corporation. Works primarily

for young people, students, status holders and working young people

- DUWO is a non-profit organization, only for students. Now works not only for students from the Uva and VU, but also for students of

the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), InHolland University of Applied Sciences and for employees of these institutions

To be further elaborated in research

Research on Collectivity and Community

Do these complexes have collective spaces, facilities, community policies and what kind?

All complexes are temporary, and people - especially in the complexes for foreign students - often live for a very short time. Is there still any form of collectivity and community, or is it more of a hotel situation?

How do these complexes function in the sorting machine?

Can collectivity and community building lead to people staying in Amsterdam?

Housing market, living and temporariness

The paradox explains

- Between 2025 and 1 July 2024, all homes with a rent above the social rent limit (880 euros/month in 2024) could be rented out temporarily. Housing corporations rent out for a maximum of 5 years, private landlords for a maximum of 2 years. Private landlords in particular made extensive use of this.
As a result, homes in the private rental sector (around 30% of all homes in Amsterdam) became available frequently and this supply therefore increased enormously.
- Youth homes are up to 27 years; if you sign a new contract at the age of 27, you can live there until you are 32.
Due to the introduction of temporary contracts, both in the private rental sector and for youth homes, the flow on the Amsterdam housing market has increased enormously and it has become much easier for newcomers to settle. 

- By completely freeing up the rent above the social rent limit, an extremely expensive rental sector emerged from 2016 onwards. Due to the temporary nature, it was possible to increase the rent each time a tenant left. As a result, the rents have become so high that almost only newcomers are willing to pay this, because this is the only way for them to settle in Amsterdam.
But because the rent is so high in this sector - many pay 50% or more of their income in rent - people quickly leave here again. Which makes it possible for the next newcomers to settle here again
- Due to the high rents, it has also become attractive to convert owner-occupied homes into rental homes. Because the duration of residence in owner-occupied homes is much longer than in rental homes, the flow has increased as a result.

The introduction of temporary rental contracts for youth housing and the private rental housing stock and the sharp increase in rents in the latter stock have led to a huge increase in the flow of people on the housing market. A large proportion of the people who leave/have to leave their homes leave the city, thus freeing up living space for newcomers. This makes the city accessible to large groups of newcomers.
The housing market therefore appears to be accessible to many (almost 90,000 people in 2023). Although many times this number of people would probably have wanted to settle in the city.

Since 2021, measures have been taken to change the above-mentioned housing policy.

Owner-occupancy requirement introduced in 2021 for homes below a certain purchase price; in 2024 this will apply to owner-occupied homes below 641,000 (WOZ value).
A number of tax measures have been taken since 1 January 2024, which has significantly reduced the return for private landlords
Temporary letting in the private rental sector has been prohibited since 1 July 2024
The Affordable Rent Act has come into effect since 1 July 2024. This law would allow the rental price of half of the private rental sector (i.e. 10 to 15% of all homes) to be regulated in Amsterdam.

Will this reduce the flow greatly and thus reduce the opportunity for newcomers to settle in Amsterdam?

In the fall of 2024 we cannot confirm this conclusion

The research into the housing market, in relation to Amsterdam Sorting Machine, will focus on:

Research into the decrease in the length of residence in Amsterdam: see research results

Research into new construction for newcomers; largely small and with temporary leases. Largely in the social sector. Rent below 880 euros/month; but also much more expensive.

Since 2015, large numbers of new buildings have been built.
This has helped make the city more accessible in recent years.

The functioning of the various rental and owner-occupied housing segments for the inflow and possible retention of the various groups of newcomers.

Which newcomers end up in which Amsterdam neighbourhoods ("reception neighbourhoods"; distinction in the 99 neighbourhoods of OIS). The top 10 neighbourhoods of the past 5 years where most newcomers end up. Until about 2010, these were always neighbourhoods in South East; in recent years mainly neighbourhoods in South and on the Zuidas. More for the Demographics section.

Making portraits of the “reception neighborhoods”: what does this mean for the atmosphere, meeting, interaction, facilities, management, social networks. More for the Social section.

Amsterdam Jetset City: In what ways is Amsterdam becoming an increasingly expensive city?

Research by the data company Calcasa in mid-2024 shows that Amsterdam is the most expensive city in the Netherlands. The most expensive neighborhood in the Netherlands is the Diepenbrockbuurt in Amsterdam South with an average price per home of 2.67 million euros. Oranje Nassaulaan is the most expensive street in the country with an average house price of 2.6 million euros. The five streets with the most homes over a million are all in Amsterdam: Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht, Herengracht, Valeriusstraat and Johannes Verhulststraat

NOTES

* “Housing accessibility in the Netherlands has never been so low”
Access to the Dutch housing market fell by 17% in one year. As a result, only three in ten home seekers are now able to find a home within a year. These and other figures are apparent from the housing accessibility monitor launched today (3-11-2021) by mortgage lender BLG Wonen. (from: Real estate news 3 November 2021)

** Advice 'Access to the City' of the Council for the Living Environment and Infrastructure (RLI) (“advisory board for government and parliament”) September 2020
In this advisory report, the Council warns against the fact that cities are becoming more inaccessible. In summary: The waiting times for social housing are increasing rapidly and the supply of owner-occupied homes is falling rapidly. People with a low income can no longer live in the city.

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