Why expats choose Almere
Almere is the youngest large city in the Netherlands, built from the 1970s onward on land reclaimed from the IJsselmeer. Almost nothing here is historic, and that is precisely the point: you get square metres, gardens, and parking that Amsterdam simply cannot offer at the same price.
Three things tend to decide it for internationals:
- Space for the money. Family houses with gardens exist in normal price brackets, rather than as a fantasy.
- The commute genuinely works. Direct trains, not a two-change ordeal.
- You are not the first. Almere has a large and long-established international population, so being a newcomer here is unremarkable rather than exotic.
The honest counterweight: if you came to the Netherlands for canal houses and centuries-old streets, Almere will feel like a different country. Its architecture is modern, sometimes experimental, and its centre was designed rather than grown.
The districts
Almere is not one place. It was built as a set of distinct nuclei separated by green space, and they feel genuinely different from one another.
| District | Character | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Almere Haven | The oldest part, small-scale, harbour, village atmosphere, mature trees | Those who want charm over newness, and do not mind being furthest from the fast trains |
| Almere Stad | The city centre, main station, shopping, apartments and terraced housing | Commuters and anyone who wants amenities on foot |
| Almere Buiten | Green, spacious, strongly residential, own station | Families wanting garden space at moderate prices |
| Almere Poort | The newest large district, near the water, beach and dune area, still developing | Buyers who want new build and can tolerate ongoing construction |
| Almere Hout | Low density, very green, includes self-build neighbourhoods | Those wanting a large plot or a custom-built home |
A further district, Almere Pampus, is planned for the longer term. Treat announced developments carefully: plans in Almere have historically shifted in both timing and scale.
Commuting
Almere has several stations, and which one you live near matters more than which city you live in. A house fifteen minutes by bike from a station adds half an hour to your daily round trip.
| Route | Typical time by train |
|---|---|
| Almere Centrum to Amsterdam Centraal | Roughly 20 to 25 minutes, direct |
| Almere Centrum to Amsterdam Zuid | Roughly 20 to 25 minutes |
| Almere Centrum to Schiphol | Usually within about 40 minutes |
| Almere to Utrecht | Around 40 minutes, often with a change |
By car the A6 connects to the A1 and A9. It is efficient outside peak hours and slow within them, which is the usual Randstad story. Check current timetables yourself, since services and journey times change.
What the housing stock actually is
This is where Almere differs most from older Dutch cities, and it has direct financial consequences.
The bulk of Almere's homes were built between roughly 1975 and 2005, with substantial new build since. That means:
- Few foundation problems of the Amsterdam kind. You are not usually dealing with century-old wooden piles.
- Energy performance is the real issue. Homes from the late 1970s and 1980s were built to insulation standards that look poor today. Expect to consider roof and wall insulation, glazing, and heating upgrades.
- Build speed left traces. Almere expanded extremely fast, and construction quality in some 1980s series is mediocre. A structural survey is money well spent on anything pre-1995.
- An unusual amount of self-build. Almere actively promoted private plots, most visibly in Homeruskwartier. Self-built homes range from excellent to improvised, so check permits, completion documentation, and construction quality with real care.
On a 1980s terraced house the difference between label G and label A can be tens of thousands of euro in work, and it affects both your monthly costs and how much you can borrow, since NHG allows extra borrowing for energy measures. Get the insulation situation clear before you bid, not after.
Almere-specific checks
Standard Dutch checks apply, and our national buying guide covers those. These are the ones particular to a city built on reclaimed seabed.
Ground settlement and drainage
Almere sits on reclaimed polder land, and reclaimed ground settles over decades. Houses on proper foundations are generally fine, but gardens, terraces, driveways, and garden walls often sink noticeably, and outbuildings built without adequate foundations can move. Look for sloping paving, gaps between extensions and the main house, and doors that no longer close squarely.
Water levels and groundwater
Water management is engineered throughout Flevoland. Ask about groundwater levels around the property, whether the crawl space stays dry, and whether the garden drains after heavy rain. A wet crawl space is a solvable problem, but it should be priced in rather than discovered later.
Self-build documentation
If the house was privately built, ask for the building permit, the completion inspection, warranties, and drawings. Ask who did the work. An owner-builder's enthusiasm is not a guarantee of code compliance.
Leasehold and VvE
Municipal erfpacht is far less prominent in Almere than in Amsterdam, but never assume freehold: check the deed. For apartments, review the VvE reserve fund, meeting minutes, and long-term maintenance plan, especially in 1980s blocks where major renovations may be pending.
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Compare free quotesPrices in 2026
Treat all of the following as orientation. Reported figures for Almere differ substantially between data providers, because they measure different things: average versus median, transactions versus asking prices, city versus wider Flevoland region, and different quarters.
| Indicator | Reported figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Average transaction price, Almere | About 461,000 euro, up roughly 3 percent year on year | NVM figures for Q1 2026, as reported by a local NVM agent |
| Price per square metre, Almere | About 4,183 euro, up roughly 6.7 percent | Same NVM Q1 2026 reporting |
| Average time to sell | About 31 days, slightly slower than a year earlier | Same NVM Q1 2026 reporting |
| Average selling price, recent three months | About 444,000 euro, against an average asking price near 502,000 euro | A commercial market data site, mid-2026 |
| National average transaction price | 485,000 euro in Q1 2026, rising to about 506,000 euro in Q2 | NVM figures as reported in the press |
The useful conclusion is not a single number. It is that Almere sits somewhat below the national average while rising faster per square metre than the country as a whole, and that homes sell in about a month. Apartments are markedly cheaper than houses, and Almere Haven and the centre are generally the more affordable districts while Poort and Hout include the upper segment.
City averages are close to useless when bidding. What matters is recent comparable sales in that street or neighbourhood, for that housing type, which is exactly what a local buying agent has access to and you do not.
Schools and daily life
- International education. Almere has international education provision, and Amsterdam's international schools are within commuting distance. Places are limited and waiting lists are real, so enquire long before you move rather than after.
- Registration. Register with the gemeente to obtain a BSN, which you will need for a bank account, a mortgage, and essentially everything else.
- Getting around. Almere was designed with segregated bus lanes and cycle paths, which makes cycling genuinely pleasant and the bus network unusually usable.
- Amenities. Each district has its own centre, so day-to-day shopping is local while the main centre serves the larger needs.
Frequently asked questions
For people working in or around Amsterdam, usually yes: more space per euro, a direct twenty to twenty-five minute train, and an established international community. The trade-offs are modern rather than historic surroundings, and a housing stock that often needs energy upgrades.
Roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes by direct train from Almere Centrum to Amsterdam Centraal or Zuid, and usually within about forty minutes to Schiphol. Your distance from a station matters more than the city itself, so check that before you fall for a house.
Almere Stad for amenities and fast trains, Buiten for family space at moderate prices, Haven for a village feel, Poort for new build near the water, Hout for large plots and self-build. Commuters should weight station proximity heavily.
On anything built before roughly 1995, yes, it is worth the few hundred euro. Almere's rapid expansion produced variable construction quality, and settlement affects gardens, terraces, and outbuildings across the city.
It is far less prominent than in Amsterdam, but you should still verify the deed rather than assume freehold. Your buying agent or the notary will confirm it before you commit.
Written and maintained by Robbert Winnemuller, founder of DutchKey. He works in Dutch residential property in Flevoland and built DutchKey after seeing how often international buyers signed Dutch contracts nobody had explained to them. He is not the agent you are matched with: DutchKey introduces you to independent, buyer-only agents, and this guide exists to make you a harder client to mislead.