3 ms·

The Netherlands grew by 1 million people between 2015 and 2025, roughly 6,5% increase in population. And (almost) everyone has a house. Except we don't build

The Netherlands grew by 1 million people between 2015 and 2025, roughly 6,5% increase in population. And (almost) everyone has a house. Except we don't build flats and suburban one-house-fits-all massive construction projects. We mostly do smallscale development times a 1000, in stead of one big one. We think it results in better cities. Though, it is true we should build even more.

alephnan 1y ago
> And (almost) everyone has a house. How come the Netherlands has the most pronounced housing shortage for university students compared to other countries ? Is it because everyone is AirBnb'ing their first and second homes out to tourists? It's so bad that international students are forced to decline university and graduate school offers. I know because I am in that boat. https://nltimes.nl/2025/04/22/housing-shortage-netherlands-reach-453000-2027-experts-warn https://nltimes.nl/2025/04/22/housing-shortage-netherlands-r... https://www.goinconnect.com/success-stories/the-student-housing-crisis-in-the-netherlands-how-the-hague-university-of-applied-sciences-is-supporting-international-students#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20report%20by,for%20the%20international%20student%20population. https://www.goinconnect.com/success-stories/the-student-hous...
- apexalpha 1y ago
  Housing in the Netherlands is complex, it's not a free market. Out of a total of ~8 million homes: - 4.6 million are owned by the people who live in them. - 2.3 million are owned by social housing corporations. You have to join a waitlist for these, you can't outbid someone. And then lastly: - 1 million houses are "free rentals". But this means they are open to anyone, they are still rent-controlled. You, together with all other international people, as well as many Dutch people who can't buy and also aren't eligible for social housing are playing musical chairs with only ~13% of the total housing in our country.
kubb 1y ago
Apparently you have a housing shortage of 400k homes, rents increase 5% YoY, and residents spend more than 20% of their income on housing. Your cities are great though, I love the Netherlands.
- apexalpha 1y ago
  Rent increase is not an indicator of the housing market in our country, like it i s in many others. The Netherlands is 100% rent-controlled. The 5% increase is because it's tied to inflation, which makes the last few years an anomaly for rent increases. But yes we do need to build a lot more. I was just pointing out that saying "the West doesn't build anymore" isn't true, we just can't keep up with massive increases in population due to migration.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
Veedrac 1y ago
I don't think you're understanding the comparison here. The Chongqing metro area in 2015 had a population of 13.4m, today it's 18.2m, a 4.8m difference, or 36% growth. The Netherlands went from 16.9 to 18.1 today, a 1.2m difference or 7.1% growth. Good by nobody-builds-anything regulatory paralysis standards. Standstill by Chongqing standards.
amunozo 1y ago
The Netherlands has the biggest housing crisis of continental Europe, too.
- GrzegorzWidla 1y ago
  Incorrect. At the very least Poland has a higher per capita housing shortage.

alephnan 1y ago

> And (almost) everyone has a house. How come the Netherlands has the most pronounced housing shortage for university students compared to other countries ? Is it because everyone is AirBnb'ing their first and second homes out to tourists? It's so bad that international students are forced to decline university and graduate school offers. I know because I am in that boat. https://nltimes.nl/2025/04/22/housing-shortage-netherlands-reach-453000-2027-experts-warn https://nltimes.nl/2025/04/22/housing-shortage-netherlands-r... https://www.goinconnect.com/success-stories/the-student-housing-crisis-in-the-netherlands-how-the-hague-university-of-applied-sciences-is-supporting-international-students#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20report%20by,for%20the%20international%20student%20population. https://www.goinconnect.com/success-stories/the-student-hous...

apexalpha 1y ago
Housing in the Netherlands is complex, it's not a free market. Out of a total of ~8 million homes: - 4.6 million are owned by the people who live in them. - 2.3 million are owned by social housing corporations. You have to join a waitlist for these, you can't outbid someone. And then lastly: - 1 million houses are "free rentals". But this means they are open to anyone, they are still rent-controlled. You, together with all other international people, as well as many Dutch people who can't buy and also aren't eligible for social housing are playing musical chairs with only ~13% of the total housing in our country.

kubb 1y ago

Apparently you have a housing shortage of 400k homes, rents increase 5% YoY, and residents spend more than 20% of their income on housing. Your cities are great though, I love the Netherlands.

apexalpha 1y ago
Rent increase is not an indicator of the housing market in our country, like it i s in many others. The Netherlands is 100% rent-controlled. The 5% increase is because it's tied to inflation, which makes the last few years an anomaly for rent increases. But yes we do need to build a lot more. I was just pointing out that saying "the West doesn't build anymore" isn't true, we just can't keep up with massive increases in population due to migration.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

Veedrac 1y ago

I don't think you're understanding the comparison here. The Chongqing metro area in 2015 had a population of 13.4m, today it's 18.2m, a 4.8m difference, or 36% growth. The Netherlands went from 16.9 to 18.1 today, a 1.2m difference or 7.1% growth. Good by nobody-builds-anything regulatory paralysis standards. Standstill by Chongqing standards.

amunozo 1y ago

The Netherlands has the biggest housing crisis of continental Europe, too.

GrzegorzWidla 1y ago
Incorrect. At the very least Poland has a higher per capita housing shortage.