Dutch home prices still on the rise, though slowing down

Existing homes in the Netherlands were 5.7 percent more expensive in August than in the same month last year, Statistics Netherlands reported on Friday. While home prices are still on the rise, the increases seem to be slowing down. August's increase was the lowest in nearly three years.

In August, the average price for an existing home was 316,183 euros. That is 5.7 percent more than the average of 309,686 euros in August 2018.

The number of homes sold decreased, due to the tension on the housing market. Last month a total of 19,583 homes were sold, 6.3 percent less than in August last year. In the first eight months of this year a total of 140,559 homes were sold, 3 percent lower than in the same period in 2018.

Along with the increasing house prices, the National Mortgage Guarantee - which ensures that your residual debt will be waived if you are forced to sell your home - is also on the rise. This guarantee will be 310 thousand euros nest year, topping the 300 thousand euro mark for the first time ever, the homeowner's guarantee fund WEW announced on Friday, according to RTL Z. This year the guarantee was 290 thousand euros.

According to WEW director Arjen Gielen, this is a good development, especially for people just starting out on the housing market. "This brings the cost limit back in line with the average home value", he said to the broadcaster.