Outlook 2026: foreign investors looking at Dutch market but uncertainty holds them back
Foreign investors’ interest in the Dutch market is increasing but it is not translating into transactions yet, delegates heard at the Netherlands Commercial Real Estate Outlook webinar on Thursday, which was organised by Bisnow in partnership with Real Asset Media.
“The market is rather flat and we do not see signs of increased activity”, said Pieter Akkerman, Co-Head Real Estate Netherlands, Schroders Capital. “We are seeing more interest from foreign capital, but it has not materialised into actual transactions.”
Part of the explanation is the gap in price expectations, as sellers demand more than prospective buyers are prepared to offer. Geopolitical uncertainty and sluggish economic growth also act as brakes to activity in the market.
“There are a lot of investors still in wait and see mode”, said Veronica Gallo-Alvarez, Head of Investment Management, Redevco. “Market constraints in the Netherlands are such that activity is driven by the opportunities that can be found.”
On the positive side, the availability of finance has increased, which should be helpful for the Dutch market. On the negative side, there is regulatory uncertainty and a lack of clarity about what the new Coalition Government, due to be sworn in on February 23rd, is likely to do.
“The frequent policy shifts have made investors uneasy”, said Tia van Beek, Managing Director – Asset Management Europe, Principal Real Estate Europe. “We need clear signals of a will to ease the bottlenecks, address the problems in the market, bring regulatory clarity and lower the real estate transfer tax, which has increased significantly.”
Another critical issue the government should address is grid capacity, as “grid congestion is restricting development in many sectors, from logistics to data centres to housing”, said van Beek. “There should be a real commitment from the government but it does not look like that is coming.”
Such moves would bring confidence back and attract more foreign investors to the Netherlands, experts agreed, but they are unlikely to happen soon.
“We need to send a clear message to foreign capital and the new government should step up, but the right decisions are not being taken”, said Jan Hein Tiedema, Head of Netherlands, Hines. “We need quick wins.”
There seems to be wide-spread agreement on what the main problem is, according to the results of a snap poll conducted among delegates at the webinar. The question was ‘What would be the biggest catalyst in bringing international capital back to the Netherlands?’ and 55% of respondents replied ‘policy and regulatory certainty.’
Real estate professionals operating in Europe are quite used to dealing with different and often complex regulations, said John German, Managing Director, Head of Living Investments, Europe, Invesco Real Estate, but the rules need to be clear.
“We can accept lengthy delays to build and we can deal with whatever regulations are in place, but we need certainty so we can make our calculations”, German said. “Certainty is key, but unfortunately politicians have an ability to mess things up.”
