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Kamernet says the price of student rooms has been increasing, but so has the availability.Crisis or not, the prices of student rooms in the Netherlands have been rising. Kamernet , the main room-finding service in the Netherlands — which includes an English-language section — recently carried out a survey of student housing in the Netherlands. The survey revealed that the average cost of a room rose six percent in 2009. The increase was greatest in Amsterdam, where prices rose by 8.2 percent. Utrecht and Rotterdam both saw price increases of around four percent. By the end of the year, students were paying around EUR 348 per month for a room.
On the bright side, the number of rooms available has also increased. This is good news for students looking for apartments in major cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Last year, 104,283 new rooms were offered to students, compared to 61,013 in 2008. The availability of student rooms rose by 71 percent. One of the main explanations for this is that people were more likely to rent out their spare rooms to students during the economic crisis. Every student city in the Netherlands saw a rise in available rooms. According to Irma de Jong at Kamernet.nl, last year The Hague saw an increase of 90.8 percent. Utrecht, which holds the first University College of the Netherlands, had the most rooms on offer. UCU is one of the few universities to provide accommodation for its students on campus—students are accommodated at the former Kromhoutkazerne. This school has always been a popular choice amongst international students.
The surge in accommodation was not the only positive change; the rooms themselves have also increased in size. The average size of a room was 18.5 metres squared in 2009, which was a slight increase over the previous year. According to Kamernet, this increase in room size was one of the reasons for the higher rent, as the price per square metre barely increased. Another reason given for the rent increase was the increase in the price for utilities in 2008, which the landlords passed on to their lodgers. Although the cost for gas, water and electricity decreased by the end of 2009, this has not yet been reflected in rents. Kamernet said landlords will wait for some time after they receive the bills before changing their prices. But this could have further positive implications for students in the future.
The good news aside, finding a room in one of the popular student cities in the Netherlands can be difficult. Finding a room in Amsterdam, where the number of students is still greater than the number of rooms, is particularly hard. Check out Expatica’s tips and terms to help you in your search.
From Dutch newspaper Metro, 4 February 2010
[English text by Elinor Gittins]
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