Young buyers driving the sharp increase in home sales

A lot more homes were sold in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. The organization reported that the land registry organization Kadaster registered almost 48,000 sold houses, which is 7.7 percent more than in the second quarter of last year. The average purchase price rose by 8.5 percent to 441,000 euros.

It was reported on Monday that prices of existing owner-occupied homes rose by an average of 9,7 percent in June, the most significant increase in almost two years.

Especially young people under 35 years of age bought more homes in the last quarter. This was a rise of 9.4 percent. It involves an increase of 9.4 percent. Two-thirds of the group of young buyers are first-time buyers, and a third are young homeowners moving on to another owner-occupied home. “Movers often benefit from surplus value due to increased house prices. The housing supply has increased for first-time buyers,” according to the Land Registry.

Appartements changed owners a lot. “The number of bought apartments is nearly back at the peak we had in 2021. The increase is mainly because investors are selling more and more rental apartments, i.e., selling them, to owners who will live in them themselves,” the agency reported.

Many investors have sold their rental homes because renting is no longer profitable because of unfavorable tax rules implemented by former housing minister Hugo de Jonge. This has resulted in more options for people who want to buy a home.

The average purchase price in Blaricum, Bloemendaal, and Laren was above 1 million euros in the last quarter. Since the beginning of 2020, the average purchase price here has risen less rapidly than the national increase of almost 37 percent.