Nearly 71,000 new-build homes were delivered in 2019, says Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This is a 6 percent increase on the previous year and it is the highest number of new-build homes since 2009.
At the low point in 2014, only 45,000 new-build homes were delivered.
Of all municipalities, most new-build homes were added in Amsterdam, more than 5,000. Percentage-wise, the housing stock rose the fastest in the smaller neighboring municipality of Diemen, by nearly 9 percent. More than 1200 new-build homes were delivered there.
Target achieved
There is a housing shortage in the Netherlands. Partly because of this, house prices are rising fast. The government has therefore set itself the goal of adding 75,000 homes a year.
So it seems that that goal has not been achieved, with those 71,000 new-build homes. But new homes are not only being added due to new construction, but also due to, for example, the demolition of homes and the conversion of office buildings into apartment complexes. Houses are also disappearing due to demolition.
All in all, almost 77,000 new homes were added last year, says CBS. And with that, the government objective has therefore been achieved. At the start of this year there were almost 7.9 million homes in the Netherlands.
It will be difficult to reach the target of 75,000 homes again this year. Due to the nitrogen crisis, permits for new construction declined last year. The Economic Institute for Construction therefore expects new-build production to fall by around 5 percent this year.
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