Top-down, nationwide control rather than a complete reliance on local planning of new development may be needed to tackle oversupply in the Dutch office market, according to the sector organisation IVBN.

Speaking at the annual PropertyNL Forum in Amsterdam last week, Hans Copier, IVBN board member and ING REIM country manager for the Netherlands, said that the office stock in the Netherlands had increased from 40 million m2 to 47 million m2 in the last decade. During the same period total vacancy climbed from 2 million m2 to around 7 to 8 million m2.

‘So the conclusion of that is that there was only really a demand for 1-2 million m2 and we have built 7 million m2. That is the present situation in the Dutch office market,’ said Copier.

At present any Dutch city or province can decide on locations for office development. Suggesting possible solutions to control supply levels, Copier, speaking in his capacity as a IVBM executive, said: ‘I think there should be something on top of that. A top-down look at planning in Holland saying there is a real demand, that is where we should really develop; and where there is no real demand, we stop development there.’

Click on the link below or go to http://www.sherpamedia.nl/player/player2.0.cfm?c=PropertNL%20Forum%20januari%202010&s=648&aday=20100121 to watch the interview with PropertyTV.