Dutch housing prices at record high; up nearly 9 percent

The prices of existing homes in the Netherlands increased by 8.8 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, reaching a record high. The number of home sales decreased almost everywhere in the country, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Friday.

The housing market shortage is most visible in the Netherlands' four largest cities. In Rotterdam housing prices were 14.4 percent higher and home sales were 15.8 percent lower in the second quarter than in the same quarter last year. Homes in Amsterdam were 13.4 percent more expensive and 13.8 percent fewer homes were sold. In The Hague prices were up 13 percent and sales decreased by 15.5 percent, and in Utrecht it was 11.9 percent and 13.6 percent respectively.

Remarkably the province of Flevoland saw the biggest increase in housing prices with 11.6 percent, followed by Zuid-Holland with 10.7 percent. In previous quarters Noord-Holland always had the largest housing price increases. In the second quarter homes were 10.3 percent more expensive in Noord-Holland.

A total of nearly 53 thousand homes were sold in the second quarter, a decrease of 9.3 percent compared to the second quarter of 2017. Only in the province of Groningen more homes were sold in the second quarter than a year earlier. In all other provinces there were fewer transactions than in the second quarter of last year. The biggest decreases were in the three Randstad provinces and in Friesland.

Of all types of housing, the price for apartments increased the most. This has been the case since the fourth quarter of 2014. In the second quarter of this year apartments were over 13 percent more expensive than in the second quarter of last year. The price for a detached home increased the least with 7 percent.

Earlier this month Dutch association of realtors NVM revealed that a third of the homes sold in the second quarter were sold at above asking price.