Number of houses delivered in 2010 substantially down

• Number of houses finished in 2010 down by one third
• Lowest number since 1952
• Fewer owner-occupied houses
• Permits granted in 2010 down by 16 percent
• Vast differences across the provinces in number of building permits granted

The most recent figures released by Statistics Netherlands show that nearly 56 thousand new homes were delivered in 2010, a decrease by more than 32 percent relative to 2009. The number of owner-occupied homes deliverd last year dropped dramatically.

The number of homes completed in 2010 is the lowest since 1952, when more than 54 thousand houses were delivered. With 155 thousand, the record year was 1974.

The number of owner-occupied houses completed last year declined by nearly 40 percent and the number of rented houses by nearly 16 percent relative to 2009. The huge decline is partly due to the continued uncertainty on the housing market.  Just over 62 percent of new houses delivered in 2010 were in the category owner-occupied houses versus 69 percent in 2009. The Dutch housing stock comprised more than 7.2 million units by the end of last year.

The number of building permits granted in 2010 has also dropped considerably to more than 61 thousand, i.e. nearly 16 percent fewer than in the preceding year. The decline applies to rented as well as owner-occupied residential units.

The number of building permits granted varies considerably across the Dutch provinces. In the province of Utrecht, for example, the number of building permits granted for residential property was 13 percent higher, as against a decline by 55 percent in the province of Zeeland.