Real Estate Investors and Housing Policy: A Dutch Perspective

Matthijs Korevaar
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Debate is increasing about buy-to-rent investors in housing markets. This article provides a Dutch perspective on this issue. Similar to the United States, the Netherlands has experienced increasing activity of buy-to-rent investors. In response, the government raised the real estate transfer tax for investors and allowed municipalities to ban buy-to-rent investments for much of the housing supply. Although these policies have effectively reduced investor purchases and helped first-time buyers, they have had limited effects on house prices. Most important, research finds that such policies can have significant impacts on which residents end up living in sold properties, with buy-to-rent restrictions reducing the entry of residents with low incomes, often young adults or migrants, in favor of wealthier owner-occupants. The economic effects of such investors ultimately depend on the residents they cater to, which varies between retail and institutional investors across locations and over time. Policymakers should consider this fact when designing policy.

Following the financial crisis of 2008, the importance of investors in housing markets has grown significantly, both in the United States and internationally. U.S. Census Bureau (2024) data show that homeownership rates declined from about 69 to 63 percent between 2006 and 2016 and have only recovered to slightly less than 66 percent in recent years. After the crisis, investor activity increased as investors converted existing owner-occupied units to rental units, often following distress sales, and increased the supply of units through new construction or redevelopment projects. The activity of these investors has come under increasing scrutiny. Policymakers in the United States have targeted large investors owning hundreds or thousands of properties. For example, two congressional bills have been introduced to increase taxes on large institutional investors. Similar legislation has been proposed at the state level, such as in California. A key concern is that the activity of investors drives up housing costs and makes it more difficult for first-time buyers to purchase property. Such concerns are not specific to the United States and have been echoed in other Western countries, such as Canada (August, 2022) and various European countries (Gabor and Kohl, 2022). The Netherlands is one of the countries that have worked to advance regulations regarding housing investors. The Netherlands has passed various regulations to curtail investor activity and benefit first-time homebuyers in the past few years.

This article aims to use the Dutch experience to shed new light on the different roles of investors in the housing market, discuss the effects of a Dutch policy that restricted buy-to-rent activity, and explore what U.S. policymakers can learn from the Netherlands’ experience. This article largely summarizes the findings of Francke et al. (2025), which evaluate the effect of a ban on buy-to-rent investments. This article first provides an overview of the Dutch housing market, the types of investors active in the market, and the residents they target. This introduction is followed by an overview of various policies the Dutch government has enacted to restrict the activity of investors. The article focuses on the buy-to-rent ban that the Dutch government introduced and the results of the evaluation of this policy by Francke et al. (2025). Of particular importance are the effects of these policies on residents. The article concludes with the implications of these findings for the U.S. policy debate.