BPD Woningfonds tackles stagnant housing market

“The housing market is in fact closed for more than 3 million households earning between one or two times the average income. There’s no suitable supply, while demand continues to grow”, Walter de Boer explains. “We care about the fate of these (re-)starters, families and senior citizens living independently. As a housing and area developer, since the very first Bouwfonds home in 1947, BPD has been committed to people on the housing market seeking affordable housing in a pleasant environment”.

The launch of BPD Woningfonds can be seen as our answer to an urgent, topical social issue, namely affordable housing for middle-income households. De Boer: “Within a decade from now, we will be putting 15,000 affordable, energy-efficient new-build rental homes for middle incomes on the market. Apartments and single-family homes offering affordable rents: most of which range between 650 and 1,000 euros per month. We do this in places where demand is high: in attractive residential areas in urban environments, within and outside the Randstad conurbation. This allows us to serve the growing group of people who are not eligible for social and expensive rents, or for whom an owner-occupied home is still out of reach.”

With the launch of the housing fund, BPD, in conjunction with Rabobank as the financier (for this, see the interview with Gea Voorhorst) is very much geared towards the future: the fund is planned out for the longer term. “The Netherlands is changing,” De Boer explains. “The economy is growing, the population is ageing. In 2030, there will be about 3.5 million people living on their own. People are increasingly left to their own devices. A flexible or short-term employment contract has become the standard now. Especially now that owner-occupied homes have become more expensive, ‘renting’ is increasingly becoming the first or last step in your housing career.” 

Expanding the supply of affordable rental homes is the key to opening up the stagnated housing market. In addition, mid-priced rental homes form an inextricable part of effective and varied area development. It features inclusive neighbourhoods, in which there is room for a wide variety of different homes: affordable and expensive, owner-occupied and rental homes.