Best of times, worst of times. Dutch house prices rose 3.4% in a year, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Wednesday, but they fell in 13 municipalities. The biggest drop was in Best, near Eindhoven: 4.6%. Two days earlier the housing minister named Best one of five places to build faster, with some 3,500 new homes. Timing is everything.
Six metres down. The same list includes Cortelande, a new village of 6,000 homes in the Zuidplaspolder near Gouda, at 6.78 metres below sea level, the lowest point in the country. “We’ve never built so deep before on such a large scale,” said water researcher Floris Boogaard. Wellies included, presumably.
Over the cap. About 17,600 international first-year students started at Dutch universities this year, some 6% more than last year and above the cap of 16,766 the universities had agreed. Part of the rise comes from students choosing Europe over the United States. Several universities will now offer fewer English-taught places.