One quarter more holiday homes than in 1995

On 1 January 2004 there were more than 6.8 million dwellings in the Netherlands, 619 thousand or 10 percent more net than in 1995. The number of holiday homes rose by 20 thousand , or more than a quarter, in the same period, to nearly 94 thousand.

Housing density per province, 1Jjanuary 2004

Most houses in South and North Holland

Most dwellings are located in the provinces South and North Holland and in North Brabant. In South Holland the housing stock rose by 113 thousand homes (8 percent) in the period 1995-2004, the largest absolute increase. The largest relative increase was in the province of Flevoland, there the housing stock rose by 40 percent.

Housing density per municipality, 1 January 2004

The ten municipalities with the most dwellings are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Groningen, Tilburg, Breda, Haarlem and Almere. The ten with the fewest homes are Vlieland, Schiermonnikoog, Rozendaal, Thorn, Valkenburg, Renswoude, Kessel, Ameland, Hummelo, Keppel and Angerlo.

202 dwellings per km² on average

On 1 January 2004 there were 202 dwelling per km² land on average in the Netherlands; in 1995 this was still only 183. The housing density per km² is highest in South Holland (532), and lowest in Drenthe with 75 dwellings per km². Remarkably, after the provinces in the Randstad area in the west of the country, Limburg in the south has the highest housing density with 225 dwellings per km².

The municipality of The Hague had the highest municipal housing density at the beginning of 2004, with 2,762 dwellings per km² . The municipalities of Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog have the lowest density: only 13 dwellings per km².

Holiday homes

Steady growth in number of holiday homes

There were nearly 94 thousand holiday homes in the Netherlands on 1 January 2004, more than 20 thousand more than in 1995. Most of these holiday homes are located in North Holland and Gelderland; the provinces of Groningen and Flevoland have the fewest. On average across the country there are 3 holiday homes per km²; the province of Zeeland has the highest density of holiday homes: 6 per km².

Most holiday homes are located on the edges of the Netherlands, mainly close to water. The municipalities of Schouwen Duiveland, Texel, Bergen, Veere, Goedereede, Zijpe, Ermelo, Westvoorne, Sluis and Barneveld have the with most holiday homes.

Density of holiday homes per municipality, 1 January 2004

Cees Steijn