Dutch housing stock breaks through seven million barrier

On 5 November, the Dutch housing stock will celebrate breaking the seven million barrier in the new residential district Schuytgraaf in Arnhem.

Growing from one to seven million

Round about 1896, the housing stock surpassed the one million mark. In 1934, the 2 million mark was reached. Subsequently, it took until 1962 for the 3 million mark to be crossed. In the period 1962-1992, the housing stock grew by 1 million every decade. Fifteen years ago, in 1992, the six million mark was achieved. In 2007, the seven million barrier was crossed.

Housing stock

New house completions main reason for growth housing stock

In the period 1921–2006, nearly 7 million dwellings were made fit for occupation, more than six million were newly built units. Over 1 million houses were demolished in the same period. On average, more than 76 thousand dwellings were annually built since 1921. The largest number of houses completed in one year was 155 thousand back in 1973.

Net growth of the housing stock

Composition of the housing stock

Throughout the years, the composition of the housing stock has changed markedly. In 1956, 29 percent of the Dutch housing stock were owner-occupied. From 1971 to 2006, the proportion of owner-occupied dwellings rose from 35 to 54 percent.
This year, 41 percent of the housing stock consists of dwellings built in the period 1970–1995. Twenty percent date back to before 1945 and 13 percent were built in the past twelve years.

Housing stock 2007 by building period

Linda Slikkerveer and Cees Steijn