Fernando de Querol Cumbrera
Research expert covering construction, loans, leasing, savings, and debt
Construction industry in the Netherlands - statistics & facts
The real estate market is running hot, but the construction sector in the Netherlands has not been able to respond adequately in the past few years. There has been a rise in the demand for housing and housing prices over this period. The need for housing can be expected to keep increasing, as the Netherlands was one of the European countries with the highest population growth rates in 2022. Despite this, the construction industry has not been able to react with more homes and apartments under construction. In fact, the number of building permits issued for new housing has fallen from 10,717 in 2021 to 6,272 in 2023.
The Netherlands has a strong construction industry that is characterized, among other things, by its innovation and its experience building complex infrastructure projects. However, it is dealing with major challenges such as high construction costs and unmet demand from the housing market.
Dutch expertise in water management projects
The Netherlands is home to many construction companies that have gained a lot of experience in civil engineering by participating in water management infrastructure, offshore wind farms, and other projects. Over 40 percent of Royal BAM Group’s revenue in the UK and the Netherlands was generated by its civil infrastructure segments. Subsidiaries of Royal BAM and VolkerWessels participated in the construction of the Maeslant barrier, one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world. Additionally, several of the largest construction companies in the country were responsible for the construction of the Eastern Scheldt barrier, which is the largest of the 13 flood barriers that are part of the delta works. The Netherlands is also the fourth country in the world with the highest offshore wind capacity, after China, the UK, and Germany.Construction costs keep rising
The inflation rate in the Netherlands has fallen in the past year, decreasing from 10 percent in 2022 to 3.8 percent in 2023. Prices have kept rising in the past year, even if at a lower rate. Nevertheless, inflation was even a bigger issue in the construction industry that year. The cost of building new housing in the Netherlands was 5.8 percent higher in 2023 than in 2022. That growth in construction costs was much higher than in other Western European countries, such as Germany and Austria.The Netherlands has a strong construction industry that is characterized, among other things, by its innovation and its experience building complex infrastructure projects. However, it is dealing with major challenges such as high construction costs and unmet demand from the housing market.
