Home sales prices up 19.5 percent in a year; Housing shortage intensifies

The shortage in the housing market remains clearly noticeable. The number of owner-occupied homes that changed hands in the first months of this year was over a third (34.1 percent) lower than a year earlier. On average, prices rose by a fifth.

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Land Registry, 49,923 homes were sold in the first quarter of this year. That was the lowest number in six years. In January, February, and March, the average price of a home was over a fifth higher than a year earlier - the largest increase since the stats office started keeping track of these figures. In March, the annual price increase was 19.5 percent. 

Compared to the closing quarter of 2021, the number of homes sold fell by 17 percent. In all provinces in the Netherlands, there were fewer transactions both annually and quarterly. The year-on-year decline was most significant in Utrecht at almost 39 percent fewer homes sold. It was the smallest in Flevoland, where the number of transactions fell by a quarter.

On the other hand, prices in Flevoland rose the fastest with a 25 percent increase. Limburg was at the bottom here. An average house was worth 17 percent more than a year earlier in the southern province.

In Amsterdam, the number of transactions fell by 42.5 percent. Utrecht and Rotterdam were also above the national average with 37.6 and 34.4 percent fewer homes sold respectively. In The Hague, the decrease was lower than average at over 20 percent. 

Of the four large cities, prices in Utrecht rose the fastest at 21.3 percent. Home prices in Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam increased by about 19 percent.

In terms of housing types, the decline in sales was least noticeable in apartments at minus 16 percent. The number of terraced houses, detached houses, and semi-detached houses that changed hands decreased by between 36 and 40 percent.