Swedish real estate investor Heimstaden is going to sell thousands of houses in the Netherlands, one by one, over the next 10 years. The company says it is selling homes to maintain its desired rating, but experts believe this is due to debt repayment and more.

In 2019, Heimstaden bought more than 9,500 Dutch homes from British investment group Round Hill for 1.4 billion euros, the largest deal in terms of the number of properties acquired ever in the Netherlands. The company has since become the third-largest owner of private housing in the Netherlands.

The investor now has a portfolio of about 13,500 residential properties in the country, most of which are rented out. The company expects to sell about 2,500 homes in the next two years. These will be sold to private individuals rather than institutional investors, with some tenants also being offered the opportunity to buy a home in the Netherlands.

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According to local media reports, Heimstaden is forced to sell real estate to refinance debts. The investor denies these allegations. Previously, there have been reports of the government's hostile attitude towards landlords, namely increased rent controls and higher property transfer taxes. Actually, institutional investors, including Heimstaden, were unhappy with these policies.

For his part, Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge has already stated that the news of Heimstaden's sale of houses is a good sign for people who want to own their own homes.

Note that, according to a recent report by the Dutch Central Bank, an additional 1 million homes need to be built in the country by 2030 to meet demand. However, the current rate of construction is only about 70,000 homes per year.