The credit crunch: impacts on the housing market and policy responses in the Netherlands

This contribution deals with the impact of the credit crunch on the Dutch housing market and the policy responses of the Dutch government so far. Reinhart and Rogoff have presented an overview of credit crises after WW II: what are the general characteristics and impacts? Also in the Netherlands, banking problems were imported from the US. The open economy of the Netherlands appeared to be very vulnerable to the worldwide credit crunch. Also in this country the real economy worsened. Housing construction fell sharply, while prices of residential properties fell more gradually. After giving an overview of the Dutch government’s current policies to stimulate housing construction and renovation, we consider whether the Dutch economy is following the general pattern sketched by Reinhart and Rogoff. If so, we could expect a continuation of the crisis on the housing and construction market for another 4 years.