Renting a Home in Heerhugowaard
A 1631 reclaimed land that grew into North Holland's fastest-growing town — featuring the largest solar district in the Netherlands on its outskirts.
Heerhugowaard exists because Alkmaar regents decided to drain a lake in 1627. The Heer Huygen Waert disappeared, and what remained was a rectangular polder surrounded by a ring canal that still defines the town's silhouette today. This geometry is visible everywhere: neat plots, straight streets, an urban structure that reveals there is no medieval core here, but a landscape laid out from scratch.
Houses in Heerhugowaard
For three hundred years, Heerhugowaard remained agricultural and small. It was only when the municipality was designated as a growth center in the 1960s that the transformation began: from 6,800 inhabitants in 1960 to over 61,000 now (2026). This explosive growth explains why the town doesn't have a historic center in the classical sense, but it does have neighborhoods from every construction period — from 1970s blocks to a CO2-neutral solar district. Since 2022, Heerhugowaard, together with Langedijk, forms the municipality of Dijk en Waard. The train station takes you to Alkmaar in ten minutes and to Amsterdam Central in forty-five minutes.
Stad van de Zon: The Neighborhood That Started As An Energy Project
On the southwest side of Heerhugowaard lies Stad van de Zon (City of the Sun), a neighborhood of approximately 1,600 homes built around the turn of the century with one goal: CO2-neutral living at a neighborhood scale, a first in the Netherlands. The roofs collectively host 2.45 megawatts of solar panels, supplemented by three wind turbines on the edge of the neighborhood.
But Stad van de Zon is more than just an energy project. The neighborhood is spacious with plenty of water and greenery — the water quality is high enough for swimming. The homes range from terraced houses to semi-detached and detached houses, all with high insulation values and energy labels not found in older neighborhoods. For tenants in the free sector, this means lower heating costs and a living environment that feels greener than one would expect from a new-build neighborhood.
The neighborhood has its own facilities: an elementary school, shops, childcare, and a sports complex. The distance to the Stadshart (city center) is five minutes by bike.
€1,650 / month
Huygenhoek: Vinex with Landscape Ambition
South of the center lies Huygenhoek, built in the 2000s as one of Heerhugowaard's last major expansions. Where older neighborhoods followed the strict polder structure, Huygenhoek deliberately broke with it. The layout is playful and landscape-oriented — winding streets, varying building lines, vistas of water and greenery.
Residential offerings are varied: terraced houses, semi-detached and detached homes, predominantly with gardens larger than in comparable Vinex neighborhoods elsewhere. The neighborhood has its own character that can be described as suburban with ambition — spacious, green, and designed for families who consciously chose space over urbanity. Elementary schools and playgrounds are located within the neighborhood itself.
Butterhuizen: The Nineties Neighborhood with a Strict Street Pattern
Butterhuizen, west of the center, marks the moment Heerhugowaard returned to a stricter street pattern after the residential area experiments of the 1980s. The neighborhood predominantly consists of terraced houses and single-family homes in a recognizable structure: straight streets, clear blocks, front and back gardens.
It's a neighborhood without major surprises, but with the qualities families seek: predictable layout, ample parking, short distances to schools and shops. Its proximity to the station — a fifteen-minute bike ride — also makes Butterhuizen suitable for commuters. The offerings in the free sector here mainly consist of single-family homes that fall between older neighborhoods and the new builds of Stad van de Zon in terms of space and price.
Bomenwijk and Schilderswijk: Heerhugowaard of the Seventies
The Bomenwijk (Tree Neighborhood) and Schilderswijk (Painters' Neighborhood) date from the period when Heerhugowaard first grew significantly. The Bomenwijk follows a traditional grid with terraced houses and apartment blocks — typical 1970s construction with the associated spacious layout and abundant public green spaces characteristic of that building period. The Schilderswijk, built slightly later, has more of a woonerf (residential yard) character: car-free inner areas, winding paths, playgrounds between the houses.
For tenants, these neighborhoods are interesting because of their price level. The homes are smaller and less energy-efficient than in Stad van de Zon or Huygenhoek, but the rents are proportionally lower. Those looking for a single-family home with a garden and willing to live with older construction will find the widest selection here.
Houses Price Breakdown in Heerhugowaard
| Bedrooms | Average | Median | Price Range | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | €1,613 | €1,600 | €1,590 - €1,650 | 1 |
4+ | €2,480 | €2,480 | €2,480 - €2,480 | 0 / 1 |
Het Stadshart: Compact Living Near Middenwaard
The center of Heerhugowaard — if you can call it that, as an organically grown core is absent — is built around the Middenwaard shopping center. Here are the apartments and high-rises, here are the shops and catering establishments, here the station is within walking distance. Those who rent in the Stadshart live compactly: the offerings consist of apartments, not single-family homes.
It is the most urban place in Heerhugowaard, although that urbanity remains modest compared to Alkmaar or Amsterdam. The advantage is accessibility — train, bus, and car are all nearby — and the completeness of amenities. The disadvantage is that you miss the space and greenery that the suburbs offer.
De Noord: The Oldest Strip
Along the ring canal on the north side of the polder lies De Noord (The North), the oldest part of Heerhugowaard. Here was the first development after the reclamation — linear development along the water, farms, later supplemented with homes from various periods. The character is different from the rest of Heerhugowaard: more rural, smaller-scale, with views of the polder landscape.
The rental housing supply in De Noord is minimal. It is a neighborhood with little turnover and a village character that residents do not give up quickly. But those who find a home here live in the part of Heerhugowaard that is closest to its origin — the ring canal that forms the boundary of the 1631 polder.
A Polder as a Blueprint
Heerhugowaard is built on a reclaimed land from 1631. The ring canal that once surrounded the lake is still fully intact and forms the boundary of the town. The strict rectangular polder layout determines the street pattern of almost every neighborhood — a geometry you immediately recognize from the air.
Stad van de Zon: Pioneer Project
Upon completion, the eponymous neighborhood was the first CO2-neutral residential area of its scale in the Netherlands. With 2.45 megawatts of solar panels and three wind turbines, the neighborhood produced as much energy as it consumed. The project attracted international attention and put Heerhugowaard on the map as a laboratory for sustainable building.
Ten Minutes from Alkmaar
Heerhugowaard has no historic center, no canals, and no monuments. What it does have is a direct train connection to a city that has all of these. Alkmaar is ten minutes away by train — close enough to benefit from the cultural offerings, far enough to notice the difference in living costs.
A Growth Center with Offerings in Every Price Range
The free sector in Heerhugowaard offers something you find less and less in Alkmaar or Amsterdam: single-family homes with gardens, in neighborhoods built for families. The offerings range from 1970s construction in the Bomenwijk to energy-neutral new builds in Stad van de Zon. The choice of neighborhood determines not only the type of home but also the energy label and price level.
Heerhugowaard is not a city with a years-long waiting list. The supply is more ample than in the Randstad, and competition per home is lower. But popular homes — especially in Stad van de Zon and Huygenhoek — attract multiple candidates. Make sure your proof of income and identification are digitally ready, and set up a search alert on our platform to get immediate notifications of new listings.
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