Is the end of the extreme rental increases in the Netherlands in sight?

Whilst rental prices continue to rise, it seems as though the end of the extreme increases is finally in sight. According to figures from Pararius, in the last quarter of 2018 new tenants paid 4,9 percent more rent than in the same quarter a year previously. While this may still seem like a lot, it is actually the first time in 3,5 years that the average increase in rent in the free sector has been less than 5 percent.

Rents are still increasing 

Although they may not be increasing as acutely as before, rental accommodation prices are still on the up. On average, the rental price per square metre per month is now at 16 euros. Rental prices in the free sector rose in all provinces compared to the same quarter in 2017.

The province with the highest increase in price per square metre was Flevoland. There, price per square metre went up by 26,7 percent to 12,37 euros. This increase has a lot to do with the rising rental prices in the Dutch city Almere. In Almere, the price per square metre rose by 22,2 percent to 12,55 euros.

In second place is the province Drenthe, where the price per square metre went up by 16,4 percent compared to the year before. Despite this large upsurge, the province still boasts the cheapest price per square metre of all the Dutch provinces, at 9,80 euros.

Highest rents in Amsterdam

For some time, Amsterdam has had the highest rental prices in the country and this year is no exception. Last quarter, new tenants paid 22,98 euros per square metre for rental accommodation in the free sector, 3,2 percent more than last year. In Rotterdam, the rental increase, at 4 percent, was also below the national average, with new tenants paying an average of 15,76 euros per square metre per month.

In Utrecht, however, prices did not follow the same pattern as in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Free sector rental prices instead rose by 12,9 percent, well above the national average increase, and ended up being 17,21 euros on average per square metre.

Rental prices in Eindhoven, the fifth largest city in the Netherlands, also rose above the national average. This is the second consecutive quarter in which that they have done so. New tenants paid 14,43 euros per square metre on average, an increase of 9,1 percent.