The rental market is also picking up again

The rental of free sector housing is also emerging from the corona crisis. Initially it seemed that this sector in particular was suffering from declining interest. After all, the flexible expats left for their home countries under pressure of circumstances. And during the first wave there was reluctance on the part of potential tenants (fewer viewings), but in the meantime things are moving at full speed again. The vacant houses and apartments have been refilled at lightning speed. The quarterly figures of the NVM and Vastgoed Management Nederland show that the third quarter accounted for 11,500 rental transactions in the free sector: 9,000 ‘bare’ houses and 2,500 semi-furnished and/or furnished houses.

The average monthly rent in the third quarter of 2020 was €1,142, roughly comparable to a year ago. The average price per square meter was €13.02, but there we see an increase of 10.2% on an annual basis. The regional differences are large. Eindhoven came out at an average of €12.09 per square meter (an increase of 2.4%). The top is in Amsterdam with €20.85 per square meter (+1.2%). The completion of a large number of new construction projects in particular led to both an increase in the number of transactions and an increase in prices. Small, relatively more expensive apartments accounted for a substantial share of the total.

These figures of NVM/VGM NL are quite different from those of Pararius, which reported a nationwide drop in rents last month. This can mainly be explained by differences in supply. Pararius mainly rents semi-furnished and furnished apartments (90% of their total offer). At the NVM, almost 80% of the offer concerns ‘bare’ houses. There the meter prices increased, while the average rent per meter for furnished/upholstered houses hardly increased, also in the NVM figures. The number of rental transactions increased in this segment, in part because people who often rented through Airbnb were now opting – due to the loss of tourism – for longer term free rentals.
In short, the rental market is also picking up again. It remains interesting for investors to invest in this, especially in and around the major cities.