Netherlands · report
Empty homes in the Netherlands
4.5% of the 8,344,955 homes registered on 1 January 2026 had nobody living in them.
- Empty, 2026
- 4.5%
- Empty homes
- 374,445
Empty homes in the Netherlands, year by year
Share of homes with nobody registered in them each year, against the wider areas.
Show the numbers
| Year | Netherlands |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 4.5% |
| 2025 | 4.3% |
| 2024 | 4.2% |
| 2023 | 4.3% |
| 2022 | 4.2% |
| 2021 | 4.4% |
| 2020 | 4.4% |
| 2019 | 4.4% |
| 2018 | 4.4% |
| 2017 | 4.6% |
| 2016 | 4.8% |
| 2015 | 5.0% |
| 2014 | 5.2% |
| 2013 | 5.3% |
| 2012 | 5.6% |
Where homes stand empty in the Netherlands
Share of homes with nobody registered in them on 1 January 2026, emptiest first.
| Area | Empty |
|---|---|
| Zeeland | 8.2% |
| Groningen | 5.5% |
| Noord-Holland | 5.1% |
| Limburg | 5.0% |
| Zuid-Holland | 4.8% |
| Fryslân | 4.5% |
| Overijssel | 4.1% |
| Utrecht | 3.9% |
| Noord-Brabant | 3.7% |
| Drenthe | 3.7% |
| Gelderland | 3.7% |
| Flevoland | 3.3% |
CBS counts a dwelling in the buildings register as unoccupied when nobody is registered in the population register as living there on 1 January: empty, between occupants, being renovated, or used otherwise, such as a second home, a holiday let or an office. It is a register count each year from 2012, not a census.
Other reports for the Netherlands
Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between €483,170 and €564,960 by September 2027.
- Expected, September 2027
- €524,065
- Chance of a rise
- 73%
At the average sale price, a home costs €504,658. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is €2,153 a month. The Netherlands sets no single cap on the payment: each year the law fixes how much of their income a household may spend on the mortgage, by income and interest rate.
- Payment, two incomes
- 25%
- Payment, one income
- 51%
Renting the average home costs less each month than owning it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is what private tenants pay on average, after housing benefit. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- €968
- Owning per month
- €2,020
40.4% more homes were licensed for construction in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Licensed, 12 months
- 113,484
- Per 1,000 residents
- 6.3
Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 10 times since 1995. The deepest began in August 2008.
- Deepest fall
- −21.3%
- Recovery from the low
- 48 months
In 2025 the population grew by 86,630 while 69,189 homes were finished: 1.3 new residents for every new home.
- New residents per new home, 2025
- 1.3
- Population change, 2025
- +86,630
In 2024, 22% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.
- Homes from existing buildings, 2024
- 22%
Public bodies signed €286.6M of housing works here in 2025, and €2.9B since 2017.
- Signed in 2025
- €286.6M
- Per resident, 2025
- €16