#PROVADA Dutch housing shortage should spur more development

Developers have a role to play in easing the forecast shortage of rental housing in the Netherlands, according to director Marijn Snijders of adviser Capital Value.

Although – international – investor demand for Dutch residential assets is currently strong, there is a lack of quality product, Snijders said during the Provada property fair in Amsterdam.

‘I hope that developers take their responsibility, possibly in tandem with investors,’ Snijders said. Capital Value advised CBRE Global Investors on its sale, announced this week, of a portfolio of 1,534 housing units to UK-based investor and asset manager Round Hill Capital for €180 mln. The adviser is also managing the sale process of another 3,848 units by Dutch housing fund WIF.

While there are some moves towards the development of new housing schemes – such as the plans announced this week by developer AM to build close to 160 rental homes in Utrecht – they fall far short of the expected requirements.

According to government figures, some 500,000 extra new homes will be needed in the coming 10 years to meet the growth in the number of households in the Netherlands. A similar number will be needed by 2020. The shortage is most acute in the segment with rents of between 650 to 800, where at least 100,000 units will be needed in the next few years, according to estimates.

Dutch asset manager Syntrus Achmea Real Estate, which invests over €14 bn on behalf of institutional clients, also believes development is the answer to the Dutch housing shortage problem. The company has a development arm which is actively responding to the demand for rental dwellings in inner-city locations. ‘This enables us to build quality product at the right spot,’ Geert de Nekker, director of international real estate at Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, told PropertyEU’s Residential Briefing at the Provada.

The attractive long-term rental prospects make the properties an attractive asset class for Syntrus Achmea's pension fund clients, De Nekker said. The company signed an agreement at the Provada this week to develop 82 rental housing units at two locations in The Hague area.

Click on the links below to read more about the briefing and the recent Dutch resi deals