The Housing Crisis: More than Half of Home Seekers Experience Problems

ANP

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:06

More than half of the people looking for a home say they experience many problems. This is evident in a representative study by I&O Research commissioned by Aedes, the association of housing associations.

55 percent of home seekers encounter problems such as too little supply, too expensive homes or no suitable offer. The vast majority (86 percent) speak of a housing crisis.

The supply is too low in both the rental and purchasing sectors. There is a shortage of 390,000 homes. The government wants to build 900,000 homes by 2030. But this is becoming difficult due to, among other things, the nitrogen crisis, high interest rates, higher costs of building materials and expensive building land.

‘Housing’ most important election theme

This latest poll by I&O Research shows that people consider ‘housing’ to be the most important election theme. For 70 percent of Dutch people, a party’s position on this theme is (very) important or even essential, an increase of 9 percent compared to the 2021 elections. People up to 40 years old in particular attach great importance to parties’ housing positions.

“Housing has been on people’s minds for much longer, so it is not surprising that it is considered an important election theme. You don’t really see it reflected in the debates yet, but it is a theme for many people,” says lead researcher Ester Hilhorst from I&O Research. “There is a large group that experiences problems in the housing market, who simply have difficulty finding something that is suitable.”

House does not suit stage of life

A fifth of people say they do not have a home that matches their income or stage of life. Less than half of them are actively looking for a home. Some say they don’t even look, because there is no point in doing so at the moment.

“Far too many people cannot find a home that they can afford and that suits their stage of life,” says chairman Martin van Rijn of the Aedes housing association. “We as a society cannot afford that. The housing crisis must be the top priority of the new cabinet.”

Many people are very critical of priority for social housing for status holders, this study shows. 69 percent are against this if it means that waiting lists for other home seekers will increase.

Do not build in nature

The Dutch believe that by far the best way to realize new homes is to convert existing offices. Furthermore, people see merit in high-rise buildings on industrial estates and the addition of a street or district on the edge of every city and village.

“Everyone wants construction to start, but there is little agreement about where,” researcher Hilhorst explains. “Further away always sounds better. That is why people are more likely to choose to build in a meadow or convert existing offices into homes. That is not close for most people.”

Almost half of Dutch people believe that the Netherlands is not yet too full to build extra. Two-thirds find building homes at the expense of nature reserves unacceptable. People find it more acceptable to build at the expense of agricultural land (40 percent) or at the expense of open space in the city (25 percent).

The researchers looked further at the role that housing associations should have. Almost everyone thinks it is important that housing associations exist. Providing sufficient homes for people with a low income is seen as the most important task of the corporations. Three-quarters of Dutch people also believe that corporations should build more homes for the elderly.

2023-11-02 05:06:32
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