After years of stormy house price increases, the market seems to have cooled down somewhat with higher interest rates. Nevertheless, the differences between municipalities remain enormous, especially between city and region. That is why shifts can be seen in the housing market, says Professor of Housing Market Peter Boelhouwer of TU Delft. ‘But the pressure on the Randstad will remain.’
De Hypotheker makes an overview of the most expensive municipalities in our country based on the square meter price. With more than 7,000 euros per square meter and an average price per home, Amsterdam is the most expensive, which Boelhouwer finds understandable. ‘Amsterdam is a beautiful city with many companies and even several universities. That is why many people want to live there and there is pressure on the housing market. Because if the demand increases but the supply does not, the price will rise.’ Boelhouwer out.
This is followed by the leafy villages of Laren and Bloemendaal, where 6500 and 6200 euros are paid per square meter. According to the Housing Market professor, these prices are mainly caused by the large villas in these cities. ‘The average price is above a million. And there is still a lot of demand for this kind of expensive housing.’
Shifts to cheaper region
According to Boelhouwer, with rising house prices, there has been a shift away from the Randstad in recent years. The increased hybrid working has also contributed to this. ‘Because people are working from home more, they can live further away from their work. For the same money they have a larger house in a different place. Nevertheless, the pressure on the Randstad will remain and those differences will also be visible in the future.’
Boelhouwer sees the differences shrinking in the future, but not disappearing. This has to do, for example, with the amount of facilities and employment per municipality. ‘The problem in Pekela, for example, is that there is little work.’
A surprise in the row of most expensive municipalities: Schiermonnikoog is in fourth place. Less than a thousand people live on the smallest Wadden Island, yet the price for one square meter is almost 6,000 euros. According to Boelhouwer, this is because there are few homes on the island and many people still want to live there. ‘Then you get very high prices,’ says Boelhouwer. Residents of the North Holland municipality of Heemstede also have to pull out a lot of money. There you pay an average of 5580 euros per square meter.
Cheapest municipalities
But there are also municipalities where it is even more affordable to live. For example, the picturesque Pekela in Groningen is the cheapest municipality in the Netherlands. The square meter price there is less than 2000 euros. And also in Kerkrade the price for one square meter is 1987 euros. This puts the South Limburg municipality in second place of the cheapest municipalities in the Netherlands in 2023.
You pay a little more in the Groningen municipality of Eemsdelta, namely 2097 euros per square meter. And Brunssum in South Limburg is in fourth place. There, one square meter costs more than 2100 euros. The municipality of Het Hogeland proves that it is cheaper to live in the province of Groningen. The square meter price there is 2154 euros.
