The rental market in the big cities of the Netherlands is beginning to feel the effects of coronavirus. In these cities, expats make up a big share of the market for rental properties: and a lot of expats have left the Netherlands in recent months.
Overall, rental prices in the Netherlands have still managed to increase this quarter, by 2.4%. In The Hague, Amsterdam, and Eindhoven, rents for private sector homes fell for the first time in a long time in the past quarter. Utrecht is the only marked exception to this rule, with an increase of 5% in the last quarter. So it might not be the time to move to Utrecht.
In large cities, expats make up a sizeable chunk of the rental market, so the long term effects of coronavirus on the housing market depend on whether (most) expats stay away from the Netherlands in the long term. “If the expats stay away, those homes will remain empty. To avoid vacancy, the expats will be offered for a lower rental price,” says Jasper de Groot, director of Pararius, in an interview with NOS.
Particularly in Amsterdam, the number of apartments offered for rent has increased: not just because expats have moved away, but also because of the increased regulation of the rental property sector in the Dutch capital.
A few weeks ago, the Amsterdam city council decided to ban Airbnb rentals within the old city centre, and to strictly regulate them outside that area as well. The hope is that this will help with the housing crisis in the Netherlands. That means that more apartments will be up for long term rental contracts, which may also further push rental prices down.
Have you noticed rental prices decreasing in your city? Let us know in the comments below.
Feature Image: Daniel Chomiak/Pixabay