Urban Land and Property Markets in the Netherlands

As the first volume in the European Urban Land & Property Markets series, this book sets out a detailed explanation of how the land and property markets of the Netherlands work. The Dutch land and property markets are among the most distinctive in Europe and its planning system has aroused probably more international interest than any other. This book not only describes the scene but goes much deeper to explain why the situation in the Netherlands is as it is, with commercial real estate being regarded internationally as mature and offering good and safe investment prospects while other aspects of the land and property markets are unique to that country. The book is not simply an account of the land and property system on its own, as all legal, constitutional, taxation and planning aspects are also explained in detail. Neither is it simply an account of regulations and procedure, since it describes thoroughly how the whole system works in practice, who all the actors in the land and property markets are and the roles they play all of which are illustrated by six extended case studies of actual development projects. The constitutional, economic and social contexts are described and current public policies are explained as they affect property development. The book explains that, in contrast to the commercial real estate scene, other aspects of real estate markets are much less open: most building land is supplied by the municipalities; development is "plan-led"; most projects are large-scale and not piecemeal; and it often appears that development deals are made after months of co-operative negotiations between municipality, developer and financier. As a full treatment of the land & property markets and planning system in the Netherlands, this book should offer insights for planners, land economists, surveyors, property developers and investors in property. Students and researchers should also find this, and later books in the series to be useful sources of reference.