NETHERLANDS - Dutch real estate fund Nieuwe Steen Investments (NSI) will sell its entire residential housing portfolio worth €134m.

Residential housing makes up about 11% of NSI's entire portfolio; the firm also invests in offices, retail, industrial and large-scale retail, but exclusively in the Netherlands.

The portfolio consists of 1,300 rental properties, mostly in the North of Holland, and NSI thinks they can be sold for maximum proceeds and hopes to make a book profit that exceeds the €134m in order to buy more in the other sectors the firm covers.

The firm expects interests from pension funds, housing associations and real estate investors, a spokeswoman said.

Since the beginning of this year real estate firms have to appraise houses on market value instead of the value of the property at acquisition, because of this earnings decreased.

The fund wants to sell of its residential portfolio in different stages, but wants to put the first lot on the market this autumn.

During its annual meeting of shareholders on Thursday the firm will make a decision on how to proceed, according to the firm it is not unlikely that also the shareholders will profit from the sale in the form of an extra dividend.