ABSTRACT
In the Netherlands it is relatively easy to separate the urban land market from the urban property market because the actors are different and their roles clearly distinguished. The practice whereby building land is supplied by municipalities which see themselves as supplying a public utility as cheaply as possible means that the supply is sufficient. The supply of land is not allowed to be a hindrance to the supply of property, unless it is public policy that it be hindered. If building land is supplied “on tap” by public authorities that want to encourage development without making profits out of that supply, then property developers will treat building land as just one of the many factors of production. If the capacity of the construction industry and the supply of development finance are adequate, then buildings will be provided in a way consistent with public policy by private developers operating commercially.
