Syntrus Achmea RE&F: 1000 new homes in Almere

Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance intends to create approximately 1000 new mid-price residential rental properties in Almere. Today, the asset management firm and the municipality signed a letter of intent to this effect at the Provada trade fair in Amsterdam. Almere has a great shortage of residential properties in this market segment.

Syntrus Achmea RE&F considers Almere to be a municipality which offers good opportunities for its institutional clients' (pension funds, insurers and charitable institutions) investment portfolios. "We expect demand for mid-priced residential properties in Almere to continue to grow in the coming years," says Rob Vester, Director Business Development. "This offers promising prospects for appropriate yields for our clients, both directly and indirectly."

The existing Syntrus Achmea RE&F residential portfolio in Almere, with a value of around €100 million, has outperformed the benchmark for both the last five and the last ten years. The vacancy rate across the 675 homes was less than 1 percent over the last few years: as soon as the tenant cancels the lease, the property is rented out again.

With approximately 200,000 inhabitants, Almere, which is part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, is now the eighth largest city in the Netherlands. In the medium term, the growth is foreseen to continue towards 300,000 to 350,000 inhabitants. Economic growth in the region is above the national average, and unemployment is declining. The price of housing in the municipality rose by 13 percent in the past year, also above the national average.

Alderman Herrema for Spatial Planning, Housing and Neighbourhoods: "A healthy housing market requires sufficient supply across all categories of housing. After all, a city should follow its people's needs, not the other way round. Expansion of the mid-price segment is important to allow residents to move out of rented social housing. That is why we are supporting Syntrus Achmea RE&F in creating private rental sector properties in our city; it contributes to the differentiation of the housing supply and thus the quality of the city."