Covid-19: So far no major effect on home sales in Netherlands

So far the coronavirus has not had a major effect on the housing market in the Netherlands, according to the Land Registry. The number of queries about homes for sales did decrease, specifically after days that the government announced measures to curb the virus, but the number of homes sold remained largely unchanged.

After March 12th, when the government announced the first measures against the coronavirus, calling everyone to work from home as much as possible, the number of individual requests for information on a home decreased by 54 percent. "Potential buyers request information about the house they are interested in for 2.95 euros, such as the last selling price or the sale of the house," said Paul de Vries, housing market expert at the Land Registry.

The Land Registry noticed that the number of people who requested information fell specifically on the days after the government announced new measures. The number of private visits to the Land Registry's website also decreased after the first measures were announced, by 28 percent, but then rebounded.

The regions first affected by the coronavirus, like Noord-Brabant, saw the demand for information about homes decrease before the regions with fewer infections. "The number of queries is now bouncing back," De Vries said. "But it is not yet at the level before March 12."

So far the decrease in information requests is not reflected in the sale figures. The number of housing transactions decreased by 64 percent in week 11 and by 27 percent in week 13 compared to the previous week, but according to the Land Registry, "this decline has been taking place for a number of years during this period, and there could be a seasonal effect". In week 12, the number of housing transactions increased by 44 percent.