I would like to know the purpose for giving the volume (space enclosed
by the building in cubic meters) in real estate listings in the
Netherlands.  Is there a specific reason such as tax implications,
cost of heating, etc?  Is this done in neighboring countries as well?
I am NOT interested in buying real estate.  I just came across a
newspaper in Dutch, tried to translate it for fun, and became curious
about this question.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 15 Apr 2006 14:10 PDT

I agree...that's a curious observation!

I looked at some listings from the Netherlands online, and they all
provided area (m2) rather than volume.

Can you give us more detail about the listing you saw?  What, exactly,
did it say about the size (area or volume) of the house?

Thanks,

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by tecolote72-ga on 09 May 2006 18:21 PDT

Sorry I am so late in clarifying the question.

Here is one place to view an example:

Go to www.funda.nl
Click under the leftmost item (again on funda.nl)
Click on any home photo.
Choose the Kenmerken tab.
Read down to Inhoud (sounds like the German word for volume) It is
given in cubic meters.  This is not always given, but it is in many
listings.

Thanks for all the comments!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 09 May 2006 18:27 PDT

Well I'll be...

For anyone who reads Dutch (and understands their real estate), here's
what I found:

=====
Koopprijs ? 367.000 kosten koper 
Soort object  Woonhuis 
Soort woning  Herenhuis 
Type woning  Vrijstaande woning 
Aantal kamers  5 kamers 
Woonoppervlakte  140 m2 
Perceeloppervlakte  508 m2 
Inhoud  418 m3 
Soort bouw  Bestaande bouw 
Bouwjaar  1997 
Ligging  In woonwijk, vrij uitzicht, open ligging 
Tuin Tuin rondom, zonneterras 
Achtertuin Ligging zuid, west (15m breed x 10m diep) 
Garage  Aangebouwde stenen garage, carport 
Verwarming CV-ketelHR combi, (bouwjaar: 1997) 
=====


Sure looks like cubic meters to me!

paf

There might be a tax reason. Some of the unusal Dutch Archetechure springs from
the way buildings were taxed.  You have seen pictures. Very thin but 3
or 4 stories tall, and pulleys and cranes to move goods and pianos
into upper stories.  I think taxes were assesed on the lenghth of the
frontage. Maybe a ghost of that survives. as meter squared.

My recollection is that they give the ground floor area, not the volume.

It's a practical way of describing the size of a property.

Volume sort of makes sence. A low end mobile home and a nice house
might both have 120 square meters of floor space, but the house or a
commercial property might have double the volume due to high ceilings
and vaulted celings.   Neil

At last, here's the answer, courtesy of a Dutch friend who's staying with me.

In the Netherlands, all land and property is bought and sold by the
Square Metre. It is the recognised method.

With properties, all floor areas are included in the calculation, not
just the Ground Floor, as I had previously supposed.

That is also the way houses and flats are advertised in Germany. 
There is a formula for the inclusion of a balcony or hipwall areas.
I expect that Tecolote72-ga misread or misunderstood the abreviation
for square meters used in the Dutch ads.

Yes, very interesting.  Definitely volume, presumably of the five
rooms (probably plus kitchen, baths, hallways), totalling 140 m². 
Since the 418m³ volume on that base gives a room height of 2.99m, this
looks very logical.  Perhaps the volume is considered of interest for
heating.

The 508 m² is the area of the lot.