Completion time of new houses unchanged

In 2003 it took on average 20 months to complete the construction of a new dwelling after the building permit was issued, whereas in 1995 the average completion time was 15 months.

Completion time new dwellings

Two in three houses completed within two years

In 2003 relatively more houses had a completion time of less than two years than in 2002. In 2003 a total of 67 percent of new houses were built within two years against 65 percent in 2002. In 1995, however, 95 percent of new houses were built within two years.

The share of dwellings completed within 12 months fell from 46 percent in 1995 to 18 percent in 2001, 20 percent in 2002 and 24 percent in 2003.

The increased construction time was partly caused by longer procedures, including objections. Thus the period between the issue of the permit and the beginning of the construction was lengthened. The construction time also increased and non-residential building had more priority.

Completions within two years by project size

Decrease mainly in large-scale projects

The completion time of large-scale projects - 50 or more dwellings - fell in 2003 compared to 2002. The completion time of small-scale projects, on the other hand, rose. More than three-quarters of all projects involving just one dwelling took less than two years to complete; in 2002 83 percent were completed within two years.

Shortest completion time in Flevoland

In the province of Flevoland 85 percent of new houses were built within two years in 2003. The corresponding percentage for the provinces of Limburg and Zuid-Holland was 61.

In the province of Friesland 37 percent of new houses were built within one year in 2003. The nationwide average was 25 percent.

Completion time by province, 2003

VINEX locations

In 2003 67 percent of all new houses In the Netherlands were built within two years. For VINEX locations and BoN areas the corresponding percentages were 61 and 66 respectively. Three-quarters of the new houses located outside VINEX municipalities had a completion time of less than two years. In total 72 percent of all new houses in 2003 were built in BoN and VINEX locations.

Completion time per VINEX location, 2003

Cees Steijn