Housing prices edge up after five straight years in decline

Prices of existing homes have gone up by 0.1 percent, compared to April 2013. This is the first price increase in five years, according to the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS). In March, homes were still 2.1 percent cheaper than the year before. The cost to buy a standing house has been almost level for a year. This comes from research about price development of standing personal homes in the Netherlands from the CBS and the Kadaster (land registry). The level of housing prices is still low, despite the stabilization. In April of 2014, the price index was as high as the start of 2003. Relevant to 2008, when housing prices peaked, the price drop amounts to 19.9 percent. Demand for sale homes is increasing. In the first four months of 2014, a total of 39,743 homes were sold, which is a 34 percent increase from last year.