Dutch housing prices still rising

Housing prices in The Netherlands have been higher in the last three months compared to the same period of last year. June saw a 2.2 percent rise in existent houses for sale than in June 2013, the Central Bureau for Statistics Netherlands (CBS) According to research from CBS and the National Land Registry, the average price level of existing homes is at the same height now as it was at the start of 2003. Compared to August of 2008, a peak year for housing prices, prices have gone down 19.7 percent. The housing market is reviving, however. Compared to June 2013, there have been 56.8 percent more sales on existing homes. The Land Registry counted 11,328 homes sold in June of this year. In the first half of 2014, 63,037 were sold. This is almost 40 percent more than a year ago. Regionally, homes were 1.2 percent more expensive on average in the second quarter. Except for the provinces of Drenthe, Zeeland and Groningen, most provinces were selling homes at a higher price. In Noord-Holland, the price of an existing home went up the most, with 2.3 percent. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, housing prices rose much faster than average. Rotterdam rose fastest with 4.1 percent, with Amsterdam and Utrecht following behind with 3.5 and 3.1 percent respectively. Den Haag follows more slowly still with only 1.6 percent. Prices of apartments, attached and corner homes rose quickest in The Netherlands. Prices for semi-detached homes, usually the most expensive, rose less than average.