Home sale prices up but sales volume falls for first time since crisis

For the first time since the economic crisis, the number of home sales in a quarter fell in the Netherlands. In the last 3 months of 2017 about 61,000 homes were sold, which shows a decrease of about six percent.

This phenomenon is mainly due to the fact that there is a supply shortage with fewer homes listed for sale, the real estate organization NVM announced on Thursday. In the last quarter of 2017 there where 36% fewer houses on the market, reports newspaper NU.

"That is, added to the further reinforced financing rules, an extra obstacle especially for beginners in the real estate market", announced NVM chairman Ger Jaarsma.

With the tightness in the market the home prices keep rising. The average house price at the end of 2017 was around 269,000 Euros, which is 9,1% higher compared to 2016's average.

The cities with the highest prize increases are Den Haag, with a 20% increase rate, and Almere, with 18%. In Amsterdam the prices increased around 14%, which is less than in the past years.