De Zeeuw also sees a difference between expectation and practice among the elderly. It is regularly assumed that seniors will exchange their single-family home for an apartment, freeing up family homes for younger generations. According to him, this happens much less often than policymakers hope.
Many elderly people live happily where they do and see little reason to move. If they already want to move, they often look for a spacious home close to their social network and daily amenities. A smaller apartment with higher housing costs is not an attractive alternative for many elderly people.
“The idea that elderly people will move on en masse is overestimated,” says De Zeeuw. “That may contribute to solving the housing shortage, but it does not solve the problem.”
More space outside the city
According to De Zeeuw, part of the solution lies in areas such as North Holland North and the Haarlemmermeer. There he sees opportunities to build more ground-level homes, without having to remove large tracts of agricultural land. “If you take the housing needs of North Hollanders seriously, you must also look at locations outside the existing city limits,” he says.
According to De Zeeuw, this does not mean that housing preferences should always be decisive. Nature, accessibility, nitrogen, affordability and the financial feasibility of projects also play an important role. However, he believes that the preferences of home seekers have not been given sufficient weight in policy in recent years.
‘Takes too long’
At the same time, De Zeeuw emphasizes that the discussion about housing types should not distract from the biggest problem: the housing shortage.
According to him, it simply takes too long in the Netherlands before construction plans are actually implemented. “We have a huge shortage. The first priority must be that the plans that are already in place are actually implemented. But we must also ask ourselves whether we are building the right homes.”