
What does the Outline Agreement mean for home (re)buyers?
The Main Line Agreement 2024 – 2028 of PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB was recently published. Currently, work is being done on the formation of the cabinet. The prime ministerial candidate is already known; the other ministers and secretaries of state will be presented at the end of this month. In this article, we take stock in advance: what government policies can we expect for the housing market in the coming years? And what does this mean for homeowners and (re)buyers?
First, what does the Outline Agreement entail?
The new cabinet will work on a coalition program based on this outline agreement. The 26-page document outlined 10 key points for the Cabinet to develop. These include, for example, livelihood security and purchasing power, grip on asylum and migration, and housing and public housing.
What do the coalition parties write about housing and public housing?
Reducing the housing shortage is described in the agreement as ‘a top priority’. That is why, among other things, no additional national sustainability rules for construction are imposed. There will be a coordinating minister who will direct spatial planning and where and how many homes should be built. A Housing Summit will be organized as soon as possible in which the central government, pension funds, housing associations, social partners, municipalities and provinces will make enforceable agreements to structurally increase housing construction. The agreement is to build 100,000 homes per year.
How do the parties want to accelerate housing construction?
The parties want to make more land available for housing constructionw. This is described as ‘just another street’, both inside and outside the city. In areas to be newly designated, housing construction takes precedence over wind turbines in the event of competition for land. In addition, new areas are designated for large-scale housing construction, preferably around existing infrastructure. The parties also want to implement a number of administrative changes. There needs to be more available and affordable building land, lower costs, and more autonomy for local governments. Procedures need to be expedited by limiting appeal options and removing other obstacles.
What does the agreement mean for homeowners?
As expected from this right-wing coalition, the Outline Agreement is favorable for homeowners. The parties do not want to change the fiscal position of owner-occupied homes to prevent uncertainty in the housing market. The mortgage interest deduction will not be altered; the imputed rental value of owner-occupied homes will remain unchanged. The increase in municipal housing costs (OZB) is also maximized through agreements with municipalities.
What does the agreement mean for home buyers?
There is little specific information about this. The word ‘starter’ is mentioned only once, for example, in the chapter on livelihood security and purchasing power, in relation to the accessibility and availability of housing. What is specifically mentioned is that an investigation will be conducted to determine if, and under what strict conditions, the right of tenants in social housing (who are not considered to be over-housed) to purchase their rental homes can be implemented (social ownership). This would make the jump from social rent to home ownership smaller.
We can only speculate about the other noticeable changes for home buyers. For example, if the parties succeed in actually building 100,000 homes per year, the supply of homes may catch up somewhat with demand. That would be beneficial for buyers, but this is a very premature conclusion. Then still a lot needs to be done. For comparison: more than 73 thousand new-build homes will have been completed in 2023, according to Statistics Netherlands. That is slightly less than the almost 75 thousand new-build homes from 2022, which was the highest number since 2012. This number is expected to decrease in the coming years, based on the number of licensed new-build homes. The question is therefore whether the new cabinet can quickly turn the tide.
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