Housing Lab
The Knowledge Platform for the Housing Market
The Housing Lab generates and consolidates theoretical insights and practical knowledge about the housing market. The aim is to address questions from governments, businesses, and societal groups, providing a space where policymakers, professionals, and researchers can convene, exchange information, and find answers.
News
Call for Papers: The Price of Land Policy (Dutch-language symposium)
The Housing Lab, the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning (BZK/VRO), and the Regional Science Association Netherlands (RSAN) invite researchers to submit papers for a symposium on 26 November 2026 at VU Amsterdam. The symposium focuses on how land policy shapes housing development, spatial planning, and land values. We welcome applied research with clear…
Call for papers: Economics of Housing Policy
On 13 November 2026, Erasmus University Rotterdam (in cooperation with Housing Lab) will organize a one-day academic workshop on housing policy and housing finance. Both junior and senior researchers in economics and finance are warmly invited to submit a paper. The workshop welcomes contributions on housing markets, real estate, housing policy, urban and regional issues,…
Housing Lab launches professional course on Housing Markets, Residential Development and Urban Area Development
Amid growing concerns about housing affordability and lagging residential construction, the Housing Lab will launch a new professional course on Housing Markets, Residential Development and Urban Area Development in October 2026. The programme draws on leading economic research to provide professionals with a clearer understanding of how the Dutch housing market functions and how policy…
Making homes more sustainable leads to better health for children
Better insulation and ventilation in social housing means that children need less medication for asthma or allergies. This is the conclusion of a large-scale study involving two million people, monitored for 10 years by researchers from TU/e and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). It is the first study to show on a large scale that making…
Who benefits from financial support measures to stimulate home ownership among young buyers? New research by Max Löffler and Jonas Wogh
Many countries offer financial support to young buyers to make homeownership more easily accessible for the next generation. A high-profile policy in this respect was the 2021 Dutch “starter tax exemption” (startersvrijstelling OVB), which waived the standard 2% real-estate transfer tax for homebuyers under 35. The idea was simple: lower the barrier to entry for…