Dutch home sales prices set new record at over €466,000, up 11% in a year

Existing residential properties in the Netherlands sold for an average of more than 466,000 euros last month, setting a new record. The sales figures for the owner-occupied homes showed an annual price increase of more than 11 percent, the strongest increase in two years, according to data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Kadaster, the Dutch Land Registry.

Housing prices have also risen sharply on a monthly basis. Compared to July, homes were sold for an average price that was 1.1 percent more expensive in August.

CBS Chief Economist Peter Hein van Mulligen noted a month ago that the housing market seems to be overheating again. He drew a comparison to the market situation in 2021, when house prices also started to rise very sharply.

But the situation is different compared to three years ago. At that time, mortgage interest rates were very low, but now borrowing costs are much lot higher. However, wages have also seen a sharp increase recently, which suggests many people have more money to spend. Many mortgage providers have also recently lowered their interest rates again.

The high demand for homes is also evident from the number of transactions. In August, 17,915 homes changed hands. That is more than 12 percent higher than a year earlier. All in all, almost 129,000 homes have been sold this year, an increase of more than 11 percent.

One of the main drivers behind the increase in prices is the very limited supply of homes for sale. The new government has called reducing the housing shortage a top priority on Budget Day last week.

"We must be able to realize 100,000 homes next year. Not only by building faster, but also by making better use of existing buildings," stated Minister Mona Keijzer of Housing and Spatial Planning, who wants to invest 5 billion euros to address this in the coming years.

According to the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM), the new government program contains "great ambitions", but a lot still needs to be done. In the eyes of the brokers, solutions for the housing market only have a chance of success with fewer regulations.

"However, it comes down to decisiveness, because only then will home seekers actually be helped. With the current regulations, the planned number of 100,000 new homes per year will not be realized in 2030," the NVM stated in a response last week.