Dutch home prices up record 11.5 percent in a year

The average price of a home in the Netherlands was 11.5% higher in April compared to a year earlier, research done by Statistic Netherlands (CBS) showed. This marks the largest increase in housing market prices in the past 20 years.

Home prices have been steadily increasing for nearly eight years now, owing in part to the ongoing housing shortage. Homes are now 63.5 percent more costly than they were at the bottom of the housing crisis in 2013.

Between January and March, over 85,000 homes changed hands. That number is 21.5 percent more than in the same period of 2020. CBS suggested such a dramatic difference was likely a result of the removal of property transfer tax for some younger first-time buyers. The temporary measure was introduced on January 1.

Additionally, some 19,000 homes welcomed their new owners in April this year, roughly as many as a year before.

Statistics Netherlands releases price data by area and housing type quarterly. The next report will be published on July 21.