(Editor’s note: This edition of the Eindhoven Business Briefing is the second dedicated to real estate, because tech companies competing for highly talented internationals require plentiful, affordable housing. Jump to Pt. 1 here.)
The housing market in late 2025 is the culmination of a series of unfortunate events. The 2008 global financial crisis sent housing demand plummeting, leading to a lot of rentals on the market … but only until demand picked up. By 2016, Eindhoven’s housing market was tightening. Then, changes in Dutch law – the Affordable Rent Act – in 2024 made it less appealing to own rental properties. Now, another factor is contributing to the market chaos – Americans fed up with MAGA America are showing up.
Through analytics, we see intense traffic from the United States, particularly from Blue State cities such as Portland and Los Angeles, that tells us that people are scouting. So, we went to Angelique Basten at Expat Housing Center for a mini-seminar in housing trends.
Dispatches: How hard is it to find a place to live in Eindhoven?
Angelique: Well, I guess it really depends. ‘It depends’ is our favorite Dutch answer, because there is always an exception to the rule. But it depends on what you’re looking to do in the Netherlands. Do you want to rent? Then you need a steady form of income, which is something that you will have to prove in the Netherlands. So, if it is a business that you already have and you wish to continue, then there’s absolutely no drama.
If you want to buy, then that’s difficult, because you’d have to have a full year, a tax year, worth of income, and you don’t have that when you come to the Netherlands. If you’re still employed, then you would be able to rent. But then it really depends on your contract. So, it depends if you are able to buy something from savings, like, for instance, (her American client) Ben. That’s no problem, but it really depends on how you do it.
We hear Eindhoven is the hottest market in the Netherlands.
As an example, Ben bought in Zealand (in western Netherlands), and we were able to buy that below the asking price, because the market is different there. But if you’re looking at Eindhoven, which is the hot spot of the Netherlands really, when it comes to internationals or jobs, then – again – it depends on what price you’re looking at. If you’re looking up to, I would say, 525,000 euros (for a house.), that’s where most competition is, and especially if you look (for houses) with the Energy Level A, close to an international or bilingual school, ready to move in. Those houses sell approximately 20-percent above the asking price. That’s nearly 100 grand.
You know, I think an international should have the ability to look at the market the same way a Dutch person does. And we’re very stingy, so we don’t like to spend a lot of money. For me, it doesn’t make sense to pay an extra 100,000 euros on a house which has already reached its maximum potential. So, the way I like to do it is to look at a house with potential. You know, look at a house that maybe doesn’t have a nice bathroom, maybe needs a bit of love here and there, and then you would put that 100,000 into that house. You’d have a new kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet, insulation, solar panels, the whole shebang. And immediately you add value to that house, so your return on investment will be higher as well.
This market doesn’t work like the American market, does it? What’s your role?
I heavily network with all the real estate agents in the region. Because I only help people to buy or to rent, there is no conflict of interest. Sometimes other realtors ring me and they say, “Hey, I’ve got a really busy afternoon with only internationals. Can you please be here and help them?” So, I will be upstairs showing clients the house. But also, sometimes they ring me, or I ring them – “I’m looking for this. What have you got in your pipeline, what’s coming?” This is what my clients are looking for. Or sometimes even when a property has originally sold but the buyer wasn’t able to obtain a mortgage. And the realtors ring me and say, “I tried to sell it. The seller was really pissed off. Do you have someone?” Then we can make a match. It happens a lot of the time.
What’s happening now is there’s a lot of internationals here, and they think it’s normal to make an offer for a house and then retract the offer. But as you can imagine, that’s a seller’s worst nightmare. But they think, “You know, that’s my right … “, right? And so these people go around doing this, and they’re creating a very bad impression. You’ve got three days, three business days, to change your mind. And so people think, “Oh, that’s my right. I’ll just retract the offer.”
That has a lot of sellers very scared of an international not represented by an agent. And some people are even blacklisted without them knowing, so they’re unable to get a viewing. So, what I’ve been noticing is being really good, obviously, for my business, because sometimes we make an offer and then the agent rings and they say, “Hey, the difference is about 20k, but the relationships are really good. We trust you, and so you’ve got the house.”
Wow!
More growth for Brabant
Speaking of housing, semiconductor giant ASML is planning a new 5 million square foot factory in Eindhoven that is projected to open 1 January 2028. ASML officials plan to hire 20,000 more people. The world’s dominant photolithography maker currently employs about 20,000 people in Eindhoven. The company has released plans for the campus, which would be at Brainport Industrial Campus between Eindhoven Airport and the A2. ASML executives presented the preliminary draft urban development plan alongside officials from the municipality of Eindhoven, reports Tweakers.net.
The development plan for the new ASML campus is not final. The comment period has begun for affected residents and businesses as well as surrounding municipalities. The alderman wants the environmental plan approved by December. The municipality owns eighty percent of the area, “thanks to a deal with Philips,” and is in talks with the remaining landowners.
We’re not convinced this will actually ever happen, but it’s being pushed by local officials and the Brabant economic development agency Brainport and funded with about 2 billion euros from Project Beethoven.
If the comments on the various websites are any indication, ASML is seen by locals as an albatross around Eindhoven’s neck, responsible for everything from traffic jams to all those foreigners taking up housing.
• Petriz Dijk
Let ASML build the homes for all those foreigners themselves; that seems like a much better plan to me.
• Louis Hof
Just open that factory in China, Russia, or the US. Spread the risk. It would be a good start for ASML’s exit.
• John Verbakel
More housing is needed for ASML’s subsidized foreign employees. The average Dutch person won’t stand a chance of buying a house in the region. Dutch people are no longer considered! All our money goes to foreigners.
By the way, LeydenJar just raised 23 million euros to build its new factory in Eindhoven. The startup builds advanced batteries.
New MedTech & BioTech Innovation Center opens 1 October at High Tech Campus Eindhoven
This just in – the new Innovation Center for MedTech & BioTech opens 1 October at High Tech Campus Eindhoven. Developed by High Tech Campus Eindhoven and Smart Biomaterials Consortium (SBMC), with support from Brainport Development and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), the center connects MedTech and BioTech innovators within the Brainport ecosystem, according to the HTCE website. The goal is to help early-stage and scaling companies in medical technology and biomaterials move faster from the lab to market, with advanced facilities and a strong partner network.
Located in HTC 11, the center offers shared workspaces, laboratories, and GMP-compliant cleanrooms for pilot production at clinical standards. Combined with expert guidance and strong partner links, these facilities help innovators turn early research into market-ready healthcare solutions more efficiently.
We’ll have the details in next week’s EBB.
Final stage of Strijp-S redevelopment
Strijp-S looks way more like lower Manhattan or Rotterdam than Eindhoven, but there it is … a completely separate and modern mini-city where there were abandoned lots just a few years ago. The final phase of the redevelopment – an effort that started 20 years ago – focuses primarily on the construction of housing.
There already are multiple projects under construction. See more here.
More housing
This planned project is in the Gildebuurt neighborhood, close to the city center. The Gildekwartier is a former industrial site, once home to crafts and entrepreneurship, and is being revitalized. This is a mixed-use development with 190 affordable new-build apartments across five residential buildings, with retail on the ground floor. The focus is on sustainability and green space.
• The Green – urban living in Woensel West, one of the city’s major commercial areas, with lots of ethnic restaurants and supermarkets. The Green, which really is painted green, has 46 apartments.
• Huren in Hoogstaete – Five buildings, 78 small rental units in the Oud-Gestel neighborhood, just outside the city center. Rental rates range from 1,184 euros per month to 1,635 euros. Apartments range from 41 m 2 to 77 m 2 or roughly 500 square feet to 800 square feet. The project is scheduled to open next month.
• Wonen in Mariakerk Valkenswaard – 32 homes and apartments in multiple buildings at this former church in upscale Valkenswaard. There are 15 apartments up to 140 m 2, or 1,500 square feet, as well as semi-detached houses up to 150m 2, or 1,600 square feet and senior-living bungalows. The buildings, especially the former rectory, are quite attractive and there are restaurants and shopping nearby. This project is still under construction.
This reuse project has 20 apartments and 1 townhouse in the former Sacred Heart Church in Boxtel, just to the north of Eindhoven between Eindhoven, Tilburg, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
We’ve watched this project for a while, but there’s no date when units will be available. We’re guessing developers are waiting until they get sufficient deposits to move forward but who knows?
Co-CEO of Dispatches Europe. A former military reporter, I'm a serial expat who has lived in France, Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands.
