In 2025, the transaction volume in the Dutch residential investment market increased to €9.7 billion (+29%), driven mainly by investments in new-build developments. Institutional investors were the dominant buyers (44%), while the share of international investors declined to a historic low of 7%. Student housing recorded a record year in terms of transactions, although new-build activity in this segment remained relatively limited. Available capital up to 2028 increased sharply to nearly €27 billion, but additional measures are required to fully deploy this capital. Looking ahead to 2040, the market will be primarily shaped by policy, interest rates, wage developments and growing demand for mid-rental housing and care-related housing.
Residential investment market
Transaction volume Dutch residential investment market reaches highest level since 2020
Strong increase of transaction volume in 2025
The transaction volume in the Dutch residential investment market reached €9.7 billion in 2025, the highest level since 2020. Compared with 2024, the transaction volume increased by 29%. This strong growth can be explained by two key developments. On the one hand, there was a significant increase in investments in new-build rental housing by Dutch institutional investors and housing associations, reflected in the combined €5.3 billion they invested. On the other hand, transaction volume in existing rental housing increased due to strong investor interest in individual sales of portfolios. It is expected that the majority of the 17,000 existing rental homes that were sold will be sold individually. Transformations now play only a marginal role in the overall transaction volume. The potential of transformations as a solution to the Dutch housing shortage is diminishing, as the most obvious opportunities have largely already been realised.
3,63,6
billion eurowas invested by investors in new-build homes
6060
%was an investment in a home in the mid-rental segment
Institutional investors invest the most
In 2025, institutional investors were the largest investors in the Dutch residential investment market, with a total investment volume of €4.2 billion. The majority of this capital was invested in new-build rental housing, amounting to €3.6 billion.
Private investors also played a significant role in overall investment activity. With a 29% share, they invested €2.8 billion. Private investors mainly acquired existing rental housing from institutional investors and other private investors. It is expected that many of these existing homes were purchased with a sell-off strategy in mind.
Housing associations acquired approximately €1.4 billion worth of rental housing from market parties. Investments were primarily focused on new-build rental housing (€1.3 billion), accounting for around 6,100 new rental homes. The number of homes added in 2025 through investments in housing associations’ own redevelopment projects or developments on land positions will only become clear later in 2026.
Role of international investors smaller than ever
In 2025, the Dutch residential investment market offered limited attractive investment opportunities for international investors. As a result, the share of international investors in total transaction volume declined to 7%, the lowest level on record. The long-term average share stands at 26%. It is also becoming increasingly clear that international investors are reducing their holdings in the Netherlands by selling to Dutch investors or to private individuals through individual sales. The rental housing stock owned by international investors declined to just over 72,500 homes in 2025, compared with approximately 80,000 rental homes in 2024.
7373
international investors own homes in the Netherlands
99
%decrease of the number of rental homes owned by international investors in 2025
The retreat of international investors from the Dutch residential investment market represents a missed opportunity. In the past, international investors made an important contribution to the Dutch rental housing market, investing in large-scale new-build projects as well as developments targeting specific groups such as first-time buyers and older households. Partly as a result of the absence of these investments, additions for these target groups remained very limited in 2025.
International investors have also historically invested heavily in portfolios with low energy labels, with homes being upgraded at tenant turnover. This responsibility has now largely shifted to private owner-occupiers purchasing former rental homes through sell-offs. As a result, the availability of energy-efficient rental housing is declining. The withdrawal of international investors from the Dutch market can be attributed to volatile housing policy in recent years, combined with stricter fiscal regulations (including reduced interest deductibility and the absence of an internationally competitive REIT regime) and relatively high interest rates.
Transaction volume in student housing at record level
781 million euro invested in 2025
Investment in student housing reached an all-time high in 2025. Transaction volume totalled €781 million, a factor of 7.5 higher than in 2024. A notable characteristic of the student housing segment is that transactions mainly involved very young, existing complexes. New-build investments accounted for just 30% of total transaction volume, which is low in a historical context, given that the average share of new-build investments since 2018 has been 81%.
Investors aim to be present across all life stages
One explanation for the popularity of student housing is that several investors have adopted a strategy focused on being present across all stages of tenants’ lives: student housing for students and young professionals, mid-rental housing for couples and families, and senior housing for older households. Student housing complexes were primarily acquired by institutional investors and real estate funds.
Available capital up to 2028
Investors view the residential investment market with greater confidence in the coming years than in 2024. This is reflected in the amount of capital available for investment in the Dutch residential investment market over the next three years. This capital has increased to €22.9 billion, representing growth of 22% compared with 2024. An additional €4.0 billion is available for healthcare real estate, bringing total available capital to nearly €27 billion, an increase of 42%.
Whether this capital can actually be deployed over the coming three years will depend on factors such as the stability of the investment climate, fiscal measures, interest rates and the supply of new-build projects. To fully utilise the nearly €27 billion in available capital, it is therefore essential to continue supporting a stable investment climate and a robust development pipeline.
Housing associations are not included in the overview of available capital, as their investment decisions are based on fundamentally different considerations than those of investors. Housing associations assess their capacity for expansion investments based on rental income, operating costs, borrowing capacity for guaranteed loans and the local task for (social) housing development. At the end of January, the Housing Associations Authority (Autoriteit Woningcorporaties) raised the alarm regarding the financial resources available to housing associations for investing in new rental housing.
60% of new-build investments target the mid-rental segment
Of all investments in new-build developments, the vast majority is directed towards the mid-rental segment. Of the new rental homes acquired by Dutch institutional investors, 60% consist of mid-rental housing. As a result, investors will add approximately 5,500 new mid-rental homes to the housing stock in the coming years.
Mid-rental housing stock
There are differing views on the size of the mid-rental housing stock. In this study, based on data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), dpi data and a survey among investors, the mid-rental stock is estimated at 491,000 homes. Based on the 2024 WoOn survey, ABF estimates the stock at 411,000 homes. Although these figures differ, the relative distribution across segments and landlord types does not differ materially. Further research is required to determine the actual size of the mid-rental housing stock more precisely.
By using the WoOn survey to analyse the mid-rental stock, additional characteristics of both homes and residents can be identified. For 21% of mid-rental homes, the energy label is still unknown, representing the highest share of unknown labels across all rental segments. However, the share of homes with an E, F or G energy label is relatively low at 7%. Approximately 35% of mid-rental homes have an energy label A or higher.
In both social-income housing and the mid-rental segment, the majority of homes are occupied by single-person households, accounting for 63% and 51% respectively. The remaining mid-rental homes are mainly occupied by couples under the age of 35 and families. Notably, the share of single-person households under 35 in the mid-rental segment is relatively high at 23%, meaning that 13% of all young single households live in this segment. Older households generally make limited use of mid-rental and higher-priced rental housing. Slightly more than half of single older households live in social rental housing, while older couples still predominantly live in owner-occupied homes.
Looking ahead to 2040
Transaction volume in the residential investment market is influenced by both quantitative (measurable) and qualitative (less predictable) factors. From a quantitative perspective, the ECB interest rate and the collective labour agreement (CLA) wage index show very strong explanatory power for transaction volumes. The CLA wage index has a positive relationship: when wage growth slows, transaction volume declines, and vice versa. Interest rates have an inverse effect: a decline in interest rates tends to increase transaction volume. Given expectations that the CLA wage index will be lower in the years leading up to 2030 and that ECB interest rates are forecast to increase slightly between 2026 and 2030, this could suggest that transaction volumes in the coming years may be lower than in 2025.
Equally important, however, is the qualitative side of the analysis, which captures how investor behaviour responds to policy developments and market trends. For example, the announcement of a higher transfer tax effective 1 January 2021 had a strong front-loading effect on investment activity in 2020, while uncertainty surrounding forthcoming rent regulation under the Affordable Rent Act (Wet Betaalbare Huur) contributed to a sharp decline in transaction volumes in 2023. Both developments were only very limitedly predictable, as was the stimulating effect of impact investing among institutional investors in 2025.
Understanding what investors consider important is therefore crucial when assessing the outlook for the Dutch residential investment market towards 2040. This study shows that a large share of residential investors operate with an investment horizon extending to or even beyond 2040. The findings also indicate that investors, as well as housing associations and developers, attach particular importance to policy frameworks and regulation in forming their expectations for the market up to 2040. Investors and developers predominantly view these factors as “very decisive”, while the majority of housing associations consider them “decisive”.
The availability of energy and network infrastructure is regarded as “very decisive” by all parties. Factors such as technological developments and the emergence of new housing concepts are generally considered “limitedly decisive” or “not decisive”, although developers in particular place more confidence in new housing forms and technological innovation than other market participants.
In addition to the factors shown below, developments such as growing demand for mid-rental housing and care-related housing, the transition towards a CO₂-neutral housing stock, and the availability of sufficient capital or financing options are also predominantly assessed as “decisive”.
