The government’s plans to build 100,000 new homes a year will not be realised until 2027, according to a new report by the housing ministry.

“High interest rates and rising costs” are behind the delay, and these issues will still be felt in 2025, the report said. There will be some improvement next year, but it will not be until 2027 that production reaches the target.

“We will feel the benefits of the measures we are implementing in a few years’ time, at the earliest,” housing minister Mona Keijzer said.

In 2024, the housing stock grew by 82,000 homes, of which 62,000 were new builds. The Netherlands currently has a shortage of some 400,000 places to live.

The report states that plans have been developed for more than one million new homes. “The focus is now on removing obstacles to new construction… and making better use of the buildings we already have,” the minister said.

The report also states that 10% of Dutch homes are now gas-free.

Keijzer, housing corporations, developers and investors signed an agreement aimed at speeding up the construction of new housing and meeting government targets of 100,000 new homes a year in December.