Dutch house prices still rising; Groningen homes up 12%

Home prices in the Netherlands are still rising, though there's been a shift in which areas are seeing the biggest increases. Where in past years home prices increased most in the Randstad and especially Amsterdam, it is now the more provincial cities and rural areas that are seeing the biggest jumps, according to figures from online appraiser Calcasa.

At the end of the third quarter, Amsterdam homes were on average 5.7 percent more expensive than the same time last year. Home prices in the city of Groningen jumped 11.6 percent. Nationwide, home prices increased by 8.9 percent on average.

Calcasa called it "important changes in the regional distribution". There were already signs of people moving from the big municipalities to the suburbs, and the coronavirus crisis intensified that. Homes outside the big cities are sold much more quickly than homes inside the cities, Calcasa said.

The province of Groningen also saw the biggest increase in home prices at 11.3 percent. Flevoland and Noord-Brabant took second and third place, both seeing home price increases above 10 percent. At the bottom of the list are Zeeland, Limburg and Noord-Holland - Amsterdam's home province.

Despite the recent below average price increases in Amsterdam, homes in the capital are still very expensive. In the past decade, Amsterdam homes became 75 percent more expensive. Compared to the housing market low point in the previous financial crisis in 2013, Amsterdam home prices increased by 92 percent.

The other large cities also saw major home price increases compared to 2013. In Rotterdam, home prices increased 85 percent, in Utrecht 88 percent and in The Hague 77 percent.

"Due to these price increases, these cities became unaffordable for many people and they are therefore less likely to move there. The consequence of this is that the demand for other areas, such as Groningen, increases and prices will subsequently rise sharply."