Prices in the private rental sector increased by 5.2 percent in the past quarter, independent housing platform Pararius reports in its Rent Monitor. At the same time, the total number of available homes fell. “That is discouraging,” says Nic Vrieselaar, senior economist at Rabobank.
“We have seen that rents have been rising very rapidly for years,” says Vrieselaar. ‘This emphasizes that there is a lot of demand for rental properties, but also little supply. To then read that the supply of rental properties is decreasing is a bit discouraging.’
Currently, 8 percent of all Dutch homes are in the private sector. Of this, 32 percent is social rental and the remaining 60 percent is for sale. ‘The distribution between owner-occupied and rental properties is quite average in the Netherlands. There are a lot more owner-occupied homes in Eastern Europe. But in Germany, for example, there are more rental properties,” says Vrieselaar.
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Multiple causes
Outgoing Minister of Housing Hugo de Jonge (CDA) wanted to focus on ‘regulating mid-range rents’, but instead of creating more rental properties, it leads to fewer.
The measures drawn up by De Jonge probably contribute to the decrease in rental properties, says Vrieselaar. ‘You also see that interest rates play a role and that house prices have fallen. This also ensures that people do not expand or even sell their rental property portfolio.’
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Difficult solution
After the upcoming House of Representatives elections, a solution to this problem will have to be looked at. A difficult package according to Vrieselaar. ‘The supply of rental properties will have to increase. This is very difficult due to the lack of locations, staff shortages and high interest rates. All in all, demand will have to be limited.’
“Maybe the profits of the landlords should also be skimmed off,” Vrieselaar continues. ‘Outgoing Minister De Jonge wanted to focus on regulating the rent. That could be an option.’
‘On the other hand, you can allow housing to be rented out and then tax the excess profits. We think it is normal that a lawyer pays more tax than a bus driver. but as soon as Prince Bernhard Jr. If you have to pay more taxes, we think that’s crazy. You could adjust that. If you earn a lot from assets, you could also pay tax on that,” says Vrieselaar.