Average residential rent in the Netherlands 2016-2023, by quarter

Rents for unfurnished housing in the Netherlands reached an all-time high in 2023. In the third quarter of the year, the average square meter rent for residential properties reached 17.77 euros, up from 16.9 euros during the same period in 2022. Note that the numbers shown in this statistic are not from a governmental institution, but concern rental housing being offered on the website of the source in the specific quarters. This implies the numbers only show rents of property on the free market and exclude social housing. No difference was made between the type of rental housing, such as houses, apartments, rooms or studios. 

Big cities well above the average rent price

Cities in the Randstad area (the areas surrounding Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam) have a big influence on the average rental price in the Netherlands. This is especially true for Amsterdam, as the Dutch capital registered an average rent price of roughly 26 euros per square meter in 2023. The Hague and Rotterdam, on the other hand, had rental rates below the national average. 

Are these rents expensive or not?

A historical development of rent price indices suggests that rents in the Netherlands are at their highest level since 1990. This graph, however, does not mention whether it has a correction for inflation or not. It is unclear whether any institution researched the development of “real” rent prices in the Netherlands. Statista can offer two components for a potential comparison: the annual housing rent percentage increase since 1990 as well as the inflation rate of the Netherland since 2008.