Institutional capital must play a central role in meeting Europe’s housing, demographic and sustainability challenges, real estate leaders agreed at a panel organised by the Holland Metropole alliance, UKCAP and others at EXPO REAL 2025 in Munich.
The Netherlands has sent a high-level delegation to this year’s Expo Real in Munich, including housing minister Mona Keijzer, as part of a drive to attract foreign investors to the Dutch residential sector.
The Netherlands’ housing shortage is both a major challenge and an opportunity to be tackled together, Dutch housing minister Mona Keijzer said at the opening of the Holland Metropole stand at Expo Real on Monday.
The Holland Metropole alliance is heading for Expo Real in Munich with a heavyweight delegation of 37 partner cities, investors and developers as well as two start-ups. Dutch housing minister Mona Keijzer is also attending the fair and will formally open the Holland Metropole stand.
Dutch housing minister Mona Keijzer has finalised a list of 20 locations where housing construction can be accelerated, with another four under review, in an effort to meet the target of 100,000 new homes a year.
It remains uncertain exactly what the collapse of the Dutch right-wing government will mean for plans to build 100,000 new homes a year, but commentators expect that most of housing minister Mona Keijzer’s current proposals will still go ahead.
The rental residential sector is likely to be the main driver of value growth for real estate investors in 2025, says Jeroen Beimer, head of research at Holland Metropole partner Bouwinvest.
Dutch housing minister Mona Keijzer has published new rules to speed up residential housing development in the Netherlands, including placing restrictions on the right to appeal and making it easier to build in rural areas.
Holland Metropole member Bouwinvest plans to invest €1 billion in housing in the Netherlands over the coming years to increase the supply of affordable and sustainable homes.
In total 82,000 homes were added to the Dutch housing stock last year, including new build, repurposing old buildings and subdividing existing units, according to new Dutch housing ministry figures.
Holland Metropole partner Achmea Real Estate has launched a new impact fund aimed at acquiring older rental homes and making them more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Across Europe, cities are grappling with a pressing issue: how to accommodate population growth, lifestyle changes, and grow in a managed, sustainable way. A special panel session organised by the Holland Metropole alliance at the Expo Real real estate fair in Munich focused on the challenges and possible solutions.
The Holland Metropole alliance is heading for the Expo Real trade fair in Munich with a record delegation made up of 37 cities, investors, developers, architects and other organisations closely involved in the Dutch real estate market.
“We’re leading the charge to change the way of construction in the Netherlands, and hopefully in Europe,” says Joziene van de Linde, managing director of modular construction company De Meeuw, which joined the Holland Metropole alliance this year.
The lessons learned in creating innovative and iconic buildings are being used to create affordable housing and stronger communities, says Gideon Maasland, director and an architect at MVRDV, one of the Holland Metropole alliance’s design partners.
Last year, Ballast Nedam Development became the first residential developer in the Netherlands to kick off the market for carbon credits derived from developing and building climate positive homes. Now the company has introduced carbon credits for apartments, through its Horizon’s project in Amsterdam.
The Dutch government has published more details about its plans to get the residential market moving again and is hosting a housing summit with investors, developers, housing corporations, and local authorities later in the year.
Area development is about more than just coming up with a house or a row of houses, says Helma Born, who has just taken over as new managing director of BPD in the Netherlands.
“Working in inner city locations demands more of developers given the complexity of current rules and the need to fit in with the community already there,” says Lonneke Zuijdwijk, who joined the management board of Heijmans Vastgoed as director this summer.
Urban planning in the Netherlands must be focused on densification, based around sufficient amenities, good public transport and green streetscapes, Edward Schuurmans, partner at KCAP said in an interview ahead of the Expo Real property trade fair in Munich.
“This really is the right time to step into the Netherlands as a foreign investor,” says Ronald Huikeshoven, managing director of area developer AM and new chairman of Dutch developers association NEPROM. “The government is ready, developers are ready and the councils are ready. Everyone is combining their strengths to focus on affordable, residential area development.”
Legislation to bring more homes under the Dutch rent control system have been approved by the senate and are set to become law in the Netherlands on July 1. Government officials say the new rules will result in some 90% of Dutch rental housing falling under some form of rent control although they will only apply to new tenancies.
Holland Metropole cities, developers and investors are again taking part at the annual Dutch real estate fair Provada, which runs for three days from June 11 at the RAI exhibition centre in Amsterdam.
The number of privately-owned rental homes in the Netherlands rose by a net 67,000 between 2021 and 2023, and most of the growth was down to new build and the transformation of existing buildings, according to Dutch national statistics agency CBS.