Volendam is the least popular new place to live in the region for Amsterdam residents

More space for less money: in many places around Amsterdam, Amsterdam residents buy a large proportion of the houses. Volendam is an exception. Since the end of the last century, only three percent of houses went to an Amsterdam buyer, the lowest share of all places around the capital. This is evident from research by data analysis company Matrixian.

Johan Visser does not dare to say with certainty why this is the case. But it is certain that ‘his’ Volendam is not really popular with house seekers outside the village, according to the real estate agent and native Volendam. “The vast majority of houses we sell in Volendam are bought by Volendam residents.” Nowhere else in his work area, roughly the part of the province between Landsmeer and Hoorn, is this trend so strong.

Of course Visser has an idea. “We have the image of being a closed community.” He has to laugh: he sees it very differently. “But yes, I look at that through Volendam glasses.” Visser gives the example of a British buyer who moved from Amsterdam to Volendam a few years ago. “All his friends said: don’t do it. But he’s having a great time here.” You just have to experience it, is what Visser means.

Not very popular

For the time being, the Brit is an exception: there are relatively few newcomers who come to Volendam from Amsterdam. Within a radius of 25 kilometers around the capital, it is striking how unpopular Volendam is among Amsterdam home buyers.

Since 1999, only 3.1 percent of all Volendam owner-occupied houses went to an Amsterdam resident. By comparison: in neighboring Edam, almost 1 in 5 houses went to a buyer from the capital. And in Naarden almost 1 in 3. This is evident from figures from Matrixian, the data analysis company that researches the housing market.

Interaction

City guide Kees Tol – no relation to the TV personality of the same name – thinks it is an interaction between his village and people from outside. “You have to adapt here,” says Tol. “You shouldn’t think you can manage it differently.” These are, Tol thinks, the typical unwritten laws that you often see in a close-knit village with a strong character of its own.

And there is another side to this: houses are often awarded by selling people from Volendam to someone from the village. “You know what’s going on in the village, you know the people who are looking for a home and their situation at home. Then the goodwill factor comes to the fore.” Recently, a house in his neighborhood went to a fellow villager – even though the seller in question could have received tens of thousands of euros more for the highest bid.

Amsterdam residents (don’t) move here

Source: Matrixian

Broker Visser does see that more and more Amsterdam residents are moving to his hometown. “I think that of all the viewings I do in Volendam, about 10 to 20 percent are to Amsterdam residents.” Last year, according to Visser, just under 7 percent of houses went to a buyer from Amsterdam. He also attracts more viewers from other places. “The prices here are lower than in Purmerend, for example.”

As far as Kees Tol is concerned, that is absolutely fine. “Come on, I say! Whether you can buy something is another matter, but they are very welcome.”