Amsterdam home prices rise above pre-crisis levels

In the first quarter of 2016, existing home prices in Amsterdam rose above pre-crisis levels. A home in Amsterdam currently costs an average of 337 thousand euros, more than 100 thousand euros higher than the national average and 2 percent higher than in 2008, according to Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry. During the crisis, home prices in Amsterdam dropped by 18 percent, reaching the low point in 2013. But with the recovering economy, the Amsterdam housing market is quickly picking up again, to the point that there are concerns about the market overheating. The first quarter of 2016 was also a good one for housing prices in the rest of the Netherlands. The national average price for a home rose by 4.3 percent - the biggest increase in eight years. The average price for an existing home in the Netherlands in March was at about the same level as in July 2004. Only Drenthe saw a drop in house prices - down 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Noord-Holland saw the biggest increase, mostly due to the soaring Amsterdam home prices.