Could people move house within the next two years if they wanted to?

In recent years, people who want to move house are less likely to be able to do so than in the past. Among those who indicated in 2021 that they wanted to move house within two years, only 44 percent had actually done so by 2023. In 2018–2020, the share was 47 percent.

People who want to move house were those who indicated (in the Netherlands Housing Survey, WoON) that they definitely wanted to move or that they were actively searching but could not find anything suitable.

Main reason for wanting to move: a more suitable home

People can have different reasons for wanting to move house. Most often, the dwelling itself is given as the main reason (31 percent in 2021), followed by wanting to live independently (18 percent) and preferring a different neighbourhood (13 percent). People who want to live independently are mainly younger people who want to live on their own. Work (4 percent) and study (2 percent) are cited by much smaller numbers of people as their main reason for wanting to move house.

In cases where people say they want to move for study or work, most of them do go on to move house. Of those who wanted to move for their studies in 2021, 64 percent actually did so within the subsequent two years. Among those who cited work as their main reason for moving house, the share who actually did so was 53 percent.

Show datatableMain reason for wanting to move within two years¹⁾ (%)Hide datatableMain reason for wanting to move within two years¹⁾ (%)

Main reason for wanting to move within two years¹⁾ (%)

reden	2021	2015
Dwelling itself	31.1	28.1
Live independently	17.8	16.5
Neighbourhood	13.1	12.7
Live together/marriage	8.7	11.6
Other reason	7.2	8.0
Financial	6.4	4.9
Health/care	5.8	5.0
Work	3.5	4.7
Live closer to family or friends	3.4	4.0
Study	1.8	2.7
Divorce	0.6	0.7
1)Selection: people who have indicated that they definitely want to move, or want to move and are actively searching but cannot find anything.

People who want to move for work or study are the most likely to move

People who cited work or study as their reason for moving house were just as likely or even more likely to do so in the 2021–23 period than in 2015–17. But this did not apply to those who wanted to move house for other reasons. For example, in 2021–23, 41 percent of people who wanted to move primarily due to the dwelling itself were actually able to move house. In 2015–17, that share was 49 percent. Those who wanted to live independently or to move in with a partner were also less likely to move house in 2021–23 than before. The same applies to people who wanted to move because of their neighbourhood, for financial reasons or health reasons or to be closer to family or friends.

The housing market is the tightest in the Randstad conurbation in the western part of the Netherlands. People living in the Randstad who want to move house were less likely to be able to do so than those living outside the Randstad. How much money people have available is also important; people on higher incomes or with more capital at their disposal are more likely to be able to move house.

Show datatableMoved house within two years after the survey, by main reason for moving.¹⁾ (%)Hide datatableMoved house within two years after the survey, by main reason for moving.¹⁾ (%)

Moved house within two years after the survey, by main reason for moving.¹⁾ (%)

reden	2021-2023	2015-2017
Study	64.4	61.5
Live together/marriage	60.1	65.5
Work	53.8	52.2
Live independently	46.5	49.1
Live closer to family or friends	44.2	47.7
Financial	42.5	46.8
Dwelling itself	41.1	48.9
Neighbourhood	31.8	37.7
Health/care	29.5	31.2
1)Selection: people who have indicated that they definitely want to move house within two years or want to move and are actively searching but cannot find anything.