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Quantitative data on collaborative housing are currently scattered or even only available upon request, and lack standard definitions. This prevents a comparative understanding of the challenges and opportunities that these housing forms offer. Furthermore, comparative data are needed to facilitate mutual learning and communication amongst users across countries and regions.

An undiminished large latent demand for owner-occupied houses, insufficient availability of new-builds and existing dwellings, and an increased financing capacity are the combined underlying cause of the enormous price rises on the owner-occupied housing market in the third quarter of 2021. Also the availability of houses for sale in the existing housing stock has never been as low as in this quarter. The other side of the picture is the declining number of house sales and households taking more and more risks when taking out mortgages.

Buildings in the EU are responsible for about 40% of the total energy consumption. Increasing the energy efficiency of housing is important for achieving the EU's energy efficiency goals and reducing CO2 emissions. Housing corporations and the construction industry need to work together better to achieve this goal. Jelle Koolwijk of MBE recently won the Research, Innovation, Sustainability and Enterprise (RISE) AWARD for his research into successful partnerships.

The supply of homes for sale in the existing housing stock has never been as low as in the second quarter of 2021. The supply of newly build owner-occupied houses has not picked up sufficiently in the last six quarters and in the first quarter of 2021 it even fell back. However, the latent demand for owner-occupied dwellings remains high. The result is an unprecedentedly tight owner-occupied housing market and again a sharp increase in house prices.

With her thesis on investments in rental housing for middle-income households Ana Luiza Barros has won the BZK thesis prize of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). Her thesis is about the possibilities of institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies, to invest more in rental housing for the middle class in the Netherlands.

The number of new homes completed in the new-build market has been falling for some years now. The consequences for the existing owner-occupied market have become increasingly clear in the last two quarters. The falling number of new-build houses is making it more difficult for the through-flow of houses already on the market as well, which is why the supply of existing owner-occupied houses for sale is declining dramatically. Some of the owner-occupiers are postponing any relocation plans or converting them into plans to rebuild their current home. The result is an unprecedented shortage of both new and existing owner-occupied houses, with sharply rising house prices and a slightly declining number of sales in the first quarter of 2021.

Major home renovation projects often cause uncertainty and stress for the residents of social rental homes. Residents - sometimes due to a language barrier - often do not understand the impact of renovation works, find it difficult to make choices, and have little faith in the project. The use of interactive virtual reality (VR) changes this.

Strandeiland is the newest artificial island in the IJburg archipelago in the IJmeer, on the east side of Amsterdam. The island is currently being constructed. With 8,000 homes, Strandeiland is one of the largest future urban districts in Amsterdam. At Strandeiland the DemoS project aims to create an inclusive community of future Strandeilanders. Particularly exciting: new methods are explored to involve residents in the area development process.

Central and local governments have maintained the huge support package from the corona crisis until the end of 2020. As a result, relatively few housing consumers have actually been affected by the corona crisis in an economic sense. Combined with a prospect of vaccination, confidence in the owner-occupied housing market is fully restored in the third and fourth quarter of 2020. Residential consumers are daring to buy a (different) house in 2020, at substantial prices.

How do the Dutch experience the corona measures in their workplace and working from home? Students from the master course Case Studies at the Department of Management of the Built Environment (MBE) put this question into research in cooperation with HEYDAY - facility management. As part of their course, they interviewed employees of a health insurance company, a chemical company, and a municipality.