The number of vacation homes sold in the Netherlands increased by 20 percent last year, according to data the Dutch association of realtors NVM released on Monday. In 2015 the the number of holiday homes sold doubled, NU.nl reports.

According to NVM, the continuing trend can be attributed to the low interest rates. As savings yield hardly anything at the moment, more people choose to invest their money into a second home. 

Existing homes still sell faster, but more and more new ones are also being built. Last year 1,200 new recreational homes were built, the highest number of this century. The coastal regions and the Wadden islands are most popular, thanks in part to high demand from Germany and Belgium. Most of the new vacation homes were built on the Noord-Holland coast. In the Wadden region and Zuid-Holland, new building is slowing down. The traditionally strong tourist region Veluwe/Utrechtse Hevelrug is falling behind due to the predominantly outdated offer, according to NVM. 

In rural areas the average price of a vacation home was well above 140 thousand euros last year, 4 percent higher than in 2015. In the peak year 2008, vacation homes cost around 170 thousand euros on average, almost 17 percent higher than last year. In areas with scarce supply, the prices are rising sharply. The average price of a vacation home on the Wadden islands was around 300 thousand euros in 2016. 

Due to the increased demand, the NVM expects the average transaction price for recreational housing to continue to rise in the coming years, provided that the economic growth continues and interest rates remain low.