Summary: |
This paper examines the provision of services by investors operating at the top end of the Dutch rented housing market. The supply of a wide range of services is unique in the Netherlands. AMVEST is the only institutional investor that has experience with this concept. AMVEST is a real estate investment company with a distinct competence in developing, buying, letting out and selling homes at the top end of the residential market. AMVEST runs a portfolio of 18,000 homes, half of which are apartments. The AMVEST portfolio is geographically concentrated in the Randstad (the highly urbanised western part of the Netherlands) and adjoining areas. For one year now, AMVEST has been offering all kinds of services to occupants of its 3,000 rented dwellings exclusively through the AMVEST WoonPlusPunt, a service-providing outlet. Two of these outlets are operational, one at Hoofddorp near Amsterdam and the other at Ypenburg near The Hague. Tenants can use a wide array of services. They include housing services, safety services, health and comfort services and administrative services. This paper starts by summarising the experience of residential landlords and investors in supplying services. It explains why AMVEST decided to start offering additional services. There is a focus on the experience in the market for rented properties. Finally, the paper looks at the opportunities that AMVEST has to use this service-providing concept to compete in the housing market in the near future. |