As a consequence of the ongoing growth in demand for houses in the Netherlands over recent decades, the fraction of the total surface used for residential purposes has expanded rapidly. The location patterns of new residential construction are the result of various forces: government intervention aiming at the preservation of open space via zoning, new-town, and 'compact-city' policies, and market forces reflecting preferences on the demand side (households and real-estate developers). The main factors influencing the location of residential construction are analysed by means of a statistical analysis. The most significant variables appear to be the proximity of a location to existing residential areas, location in new towns receiving government support, the accessibility of workplaces, distance to railway stations, and, to a lesser extent, the accessibility of nature, surface water, and recreational areas.