Why are student housing draws so competitive?

Anyone who goes to study in a popular city like Utrecht, Amsterdam or Groningen will soon face a phenomenon that is just as exciting as it is frustrating: the student housing draw. You sign up, click on the home of your dreams and then see that you are number 842 out of 1,200 candidates. At that time, the chance of winning a room seems smaller than winning the real state lottery.

But why is this system so competitive? Is it simply a matter of too few rooms, or are there deeper causes in the world of student housing? To understand why the battle for those few square meters is so fierce, we need to look at the unique dynamics of the housing market, the changing needs of students and how corporations distribute their homes.

The gap between supply and demand

The most obvious reason is, of course, the huge shortage of housing. Year after year, the number of students in the Netherlands is growing, while the construction of new student complexes can barely keep up with demand.

The city's appeal

Students don't just want to live somewhere; they want to be within cycling distance of the university and the cosiness of the city center. This causes an enormous concentration of home seekers in a very small area. Because space in historic inner cities is limited, new buildings often rely on the edges of the city, making the existing rooms in the center even more desirable.

The increase in international students

Dutch universities are attracting more and more students from abroad. For this group, finding a room is often even more urgent, because they cannot go back to their parents at the weekend. This significantly expands the pool of searchers, causing the pressure on the lottery system to explode in a short time.

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Why corporations choose to draw lots

You might think: why don't they just work with a waiting list? The person who has been registered for the longest time gets the room. Although this system is the standard for regular social housing, student housing providers (such as DUWO or SSH) deliberately choose to draw lots for certain rooms.

Equal opportunities for first-year students

If everything were based on registration time, first-year students, who often just know where they're going to study, would never have a chance. After all, they haven't built up years of waiting time. Lottery is a way to keep the market accessible to newcomers. The disadvantage is that it attracts a huge group of fortune seekers; after all, anyone can respond no matter how long you've been registered. As a result, the number of responses per home skyrockets, making the competition visually even greater.

The 'Inflow' versus' flow '

Lottery is often used for rooms that are less popular or for specific starter units. Waiting time is often used for more luxurious studios or larger rooms. This creates a hybrid system where the pressure on lottery homes remains extremely high, because this is the only straw for many.

The psychology of the masses

The competition is also driven by the behaviour of students themselves. In a market where there is scarcity, people will respond “strategically”.

• Respond to everything: Because the system often allows you to respond to multiple homes at the same time, so does everyone. This causes an inflation of the numbers. A room with 500 responses seems impossible, but if those 500 people respond to all 10 available rooms that week, that distorts the picture of real opportunities.
• The fear of missing the boat: Knowing that the market is tight causes a run on everything that is released. Even rooms that don't really meet their needs get hundreds of responses because students are afraid they'll have to sleep on their parents' couch all year round or travel three hours a day.

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The role of hospital nights and the free sector

Because the draws are so competitive, many students are moving to the private market. But the competition is fierce there too, although it works differently there.

At hospital nights (consent), the incumbent resident group chooses who will be their new roommate. This is often even more competitive than a draw, because you not only have to be lucky, but you also have to be liked 'enough by a group of complete strangers. As a result, the rejection feels more personal than with a computer that draws a random number.

The free sector is simply unafordable for most students. A €1,000 per month studio is not an option for someone with a student loan. As a result, the full pressure from the bottom layer of the market remains on subsidized student accommodation and their lottery systems.

Is there a way out?

As long as the construction of student housing does not exceed the growth in the number of students, the draw will remain competitive. Some cities are experimenting with “priority” arrangements for students who have to come from far away (priority travel time). This takes some of the pressure off for the most distressing cases, but for the average student, it remains an exciting moment every week when the results of the draw are announced.

Student housing draws are therefore competitive due to a toxic mix of physical shortages, a system that wants to give everyone a chance (and thus increases response numbers), and a lack of affordable alternatives. It is a digital raffle where the stakes are your student time and your enjoyment of living.