Van der Aart sportpark, Haarlem

Living in Van der Aart sportpark

Van der Aart sportpark is urban but not overwhelming, and living here overwhelmingly means apartment living — 75% of the stock is flats.

With just 600 residents per km², this is space by Dutch standards.

Haarlem is effectively Amsterdam's most beautiful suburb: historic streets, its own city identity, a 15-minute train into Amsterdam — and prices that reflect exactly that combination. Competition for period homes is intense.

The housing market in Van der Aart sportpark

At €272,000 average WOZ value, Van der Aart sportpark ranks 95 out of 96 Haarlem neighborhoods on price — 44% cheaper than most of the city, which makes it one of the more approachable entry points into the city. For scale: Haarlem's cheapest buurt averages €263,000 and its priciest €1,309,000, so Van der Aart sportpark sits among the city's more affordable ones.

The direction of the market: between 2016 and 2025 the average WOZ value here rose from €242,000 to €272,000, up 12% — slower than the city as a whole (+126%). WOZ values lag the market by about a year, but the trend itself is reliable.

Only about 1 in 5 homes here is owner-occupied (75% is social housing) — supply on Funda is structurally thin, which concentrates bidding on the few listings that appear. If you find a home here you like, being prepared (financing check done, valuation lined up) is worth more than in neighborhoods where something new lists every week.

Who lives here

Demographically, Van der Aart sportpark is a young-adult neighborhood — the 25-to-45 group outnumbers everyone else (45% of its 420 residents), followed by children under 15 at 17%. More than half of all households (57%) are single-person — this is a neighborhood of independents, not minivans. The average household counts 1.7 people.

As for who your neighbors would be: incomes lean modest — 73% of households are among the country's lower earners.

Daily errands, coffee and dinner

Day to day: the nearest large supermarket is about 13 minutes' walk; dining out means a short trip: only 3 cafés or restaurants sit within a kilometer.

The practical checklist most buyers forget to make: pharmacy 6 min walk · GP 14 min · hospital 0.5 km · library 2.1 km. None of these will decide a purchase on their own, but a GP taking new patients nearby is the kind of thing you only miss after moving.

Families and schools

For families: the nearest primary school is 11 minutes on foot; daycare is well covered (2 locations nearby) — though Dutch waiting lists mean you register the week you know you're expecting, not the week you need it; secondary school is an 8-minute bike ride, which Dutch teenagers do in all weather.

Getting around

Getting around: the station is an 8-minute cycle, standard Dutch commuting range; a highway on-ramp 0.5 km away makes car trips easy — check whether through-traffic noise reaches the street you're considering; and at 0.6 cars per household, most residents simply don't own one — if you do, factor in permit costs and waiting lists before you buy.

Energy and running costs

With 75% of homes built after 2000, insulation standards here are decent by default — but newer also means VvE service costs for apartments and less room to add value through renovation. Different math, not automatically better.

Before you bid in Van der Aart sportpark

Before you bid in Van der Aart sportpark: the soil here is Zeekleigebied, and pre-1970 homes may stand on wooden piles — since the 2026 appraisal rules, a foundation risk class (A–E) appears in every valuation, so check it before you bid, not after the deal is already emotional. Also, listings are scarce here, which pushes bidding above asking more often — decide your maximum before the viewing, not during it. Beyond that, the price gap with the rest of Haarlem is real, but so is the reason for it — walk the neighborhood at different times of day before committing.

None of these averages can tell you whether the specific house you found is fairly priced — that depends on its size, energy label, state of maintenance and the recent sales around it. That is exactly what a free HomeReview report checks, in about 10 seconds, for any Dutch address.

Frequently asked questions

Similar neighborhoods in Haarlem

Closest in price — worth a look if Van der Aart sportpark is out of reach or you want alternatives.