Shortage on housing market still on the rise: Realtors' assoc.

The end of the housing shortage in the Netherlands is far from over, realtors' association NVM said based on sales figures for 2019. The number of people who cannot find the home they are looking for will only increase in the coming period, the NVM expects, NOS and NU.nl report.

The average home seeker currently has a choice of 2.8 homes within their budget. People with a budget between 160 thousand and 260 thousand are worst off. In large parts of the country, the can chose between less than two homes. 

Last year NVM realtors sold 149 thousand homes, about the same as in 2018. "But I have serious doubts as to whether the number can be maintained in 2020," Lana Gerssen of the NVM said to NOS. "The flow on the housing market depends on households who put their homes up for sale. In the last quarter of 2019, there were fewer than one year ago."

High prices are behind the stagnating flow, according to the NVM. After a period of prices leveling out, they are now increasing significantly again, according to the association. Housing prices are driven by high demand. Newly built homes are being added to the market, but "they are probably pricing themselves out of the market". The nitrogen and PFAS issues will likely also slow down new construction. 

In the last quarter of 2019 the average price for a home in the Netherlands 326 thousand euros, 8 percent higher compared to the year before. The price for newly built homes increased by 10 percent to 388 thousand euros.