House price dynamics and affordability in the city of Amsterdam

This report shows the results of fine-grained data analyses of residential property transactions and private rental supply in the municipality of Amsterdam. The analyses follow from a collaboration between the Joint Research Centre’s (JRCs) LUISA team, and the City of Amsterdam. The study provides insight in the spatial dynamics of Amsterdam’s housing market, uncovering the driving factors behind the city’s spiraling-up house prices, providing empirical support to a further development of an inclusive and accessible housing market for all. The analyses indicate that closer proximity to the city centre, older buildings, and companies as buyers, are the main determinants behind higher prices. Another main finding is that looking at asking prices, Amsterdam's middle income households would need to spend a higher share of their incomes on long-term rents, in comparison to middle class income households at country level. Furthermore, for Amsterdam's middle incomes, asking prices reflect private rents that would be well above the EU housing cost overburden rate. This suggests that middle income households looking for alternative rental housing are less likely to find affordable housing in the city, and more likely to move out. Depending on data availability, similar analyses can be made for other cities and urban areas, enabling comparison and providing additional case studies, shedding more light on housing market dynamics and affordability across the EU.