Between 2006 and 2018, Cushman & Wakefield published the 'Netherlands in Sight' report twice a year - a bundle of fact sheets with relevant market data from 17 regional office and industrial space markets that became a household name in the Dutch real estate world. This year we are publishing Nederland Complete: a new format with a new starting point and more relevant than ever. The use of space in five major economic regions is central, based on an analysis of the regional economic DNA.
We look sector-specifically at current and future employment and compare future gross added value to predict which sectors in the economy are and will remain strongly represented. The development of office-based and industry-related sectors in the regional economy determines the future use of space and the future need for either offices or industrial/logistics. We use the regional context to explain the dynamics of the real estate market.
Regardless of the regional differences in the sectoral structure of the economy, the pressure on space is very great everywhere in the Netherlands: in the Randstad, with its high concentration of companies and jobs in the office sectors of the economy, in the North, with its energy -intensive industry, and the East and South, with a mix of high-quality industry, logistics and business service providers.
Above all, all this shows the great diversity and variety in economic activity that our country has to offer.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
North Region
- The economy of the North Region is in a transition process from mineral extraction and energy-intensive industry to alternative sectors.
- Currently, the North Region has an 11% share of the Dutch working population, but will achieve approximately 7% of GDP in 2024: a direct consequence of the ended gas extraction in Groningen.
East region
- Between 2001 and 2015, industrial employment in the East Region decreased by 9%, due to offshoring of production to Asia and Eastern Europe.
- From 2015 onwards, this negative trend will be broken in the East Region and industrial employment will rise sharply again: the complex nature of the goods produced in the East Region makes it more difficult to move production to other countries.
South region
- The sectors in the South Region together form an innovative and powerful industrial ecosystem, supported by high-tech industry, high-quality production, logistics hubs and a strong agricultural sector.
- The South Region benefits from strong partnerships between government, education and business, a strategic location and a progressive approach to innovation and sustainability.
Randstad South Wing region
- Unlike other regions, Randstad South Wing has two distinct faces. While The Hague has a special position as a political center and as a city of peace and justice, with which it is able to attract many government institutions and NGOs, Randstad Zuidvlieg also has the largest port in Europe, which is responsible for the large industrial output of the region.
Randstad North Wing
- Randstad Noordvlieg is considered the economic 'power house' of the Netherlands. 32% of the Dutch GDP is produced here, while 21% of the population lives in this region.
- Amsterdam and Utrecht have a strong position in the 'War for Talent' and are therefore able to attract large office-based organizations. This applies to both new foreign entrants and to movements within the Netherlands.
