Well-being here and now: housing
Housing
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2017
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | Housing costs (rented and own homes) | 20.0% of disposable household income in 2022 | decreasing (increase well-being) | 22nd out of 27 in 2022 | Low ranking |
| Housing | Young adults (25-29 years) living with parents | 19.9% live with parent(s), on 1 January in 2023 | increasing (decrease well-being) | 4th out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking |
| Housing | Satisfaction with housing | 86.2% of the population over 18 are satisfied or very satisfied in 2023 | 8th out of 27 in 2017 | Middle ranking |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
Overall, Dutch people are satisfied with their accommodation: 86.2 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with their homes in 2023. The percentage was similar in 2022. In 2021, however, there was a significant drop in satisfaction (-1.9 percentage points). The medium-term trend is stable. The percentage of income that households spend on housing shows a decreasing trend: 20.0 percent in 2022, 2.5 percentage points lower than in 2021. The decrease in 2022 was particularly noticeable among lower incomes, who benefited from government measures to compensate for rising energy costs. Despite the declining trend, the percentage of housing costs in disposable income is high compared with other EU countries. A measure of housing market tension, and the availability of homes for first-time buyers, is the proportion of 25- to 29-year-olds who still live with their parent(s). On 1 January 2023, this was 19.9 percent, up from 18.3 percent in 2016. The trend of this new indicator is marked as red.
The (revised) dashboard for SDG 11.1 Sustainable cities and communities: housing provides more detail. It shows that the quality of the Dutch housing stock is high: 85.1 percent of the population live in a house without serious defects. Less than three percent say their living quarters are too cramped. The housing stock increased by 1.0 percent to 8.2 million homes in 2023. The trend is upward. From the perspective of well-being, this is all favourable. However, there is considerable tension on the Dutch housing market: supply does not meet overall demand, and there are ongoing concerns about affordability of scarce housing. ABF Research estimated a housing shortage of 5 percent of the housing stock for 2023. The number of permits for new constructed homes indicates how many homes will be built in the near future. This number has decreased significantly: from 76 thousand building permits in 2021 to 65 thousand in 2022 and 55 thousand in 2023. This decrease has pushed the ambitious construction targets of the Rutte IV government further out of reach. As of 1 January 2022, 8.8 percent of all homes were connected to district heating or used electricity as their main heating source, with little or no additional natural gas supply. The increasing share of natural gas-free homes contributes to the energy transition.
The SDG 11.1 dashboard also includes indicators on the affordability of rental and own homes. Trends show red for price developments of rented homes, costs of purchasing and owning homes, average mortgage debt, and the ratio of median selling-to-asking price of homes on the market. However, opposite these deteriorations in affordability, there is a trend of improvement in the mortgage loan-to-value ratio for households with a main earner younger than 35 years. Additionally, the trend for perceived burden of housing costs is improving. In 2023, only 7 percent of the population considered their housing costs to be a large burden. In 2020, this percentage was the lowest in the EU.
The quality of the living environment is addressed in << SDG 11.2 Sustainable cities and communities: living environment>>. Satisfaction with the living environment was high in 2023, but at 85.4 percent, it was lower than in 2022 (87.1 percent). However, the space per inhabitant is decreasing and indigenous breeding bird species typical for urban areas are struggling. Compared with residents of other EU countries, Dutch people experience a lot of noise pollution from neighbours and traffic, and this trend is also increasing. Positive developments can be seen for air quality: the emission of acidifying substances is decreasing, and urban exposure to the finer fraction of particulate matter is declining.