Home prices down 4.4% in April

The price for an average house fell in April compared to a year ago, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. According to the statistics office, there has been a downward trend since August 2022. The decrease was stronger last month than in March.

An existing home cost 401,000 euros on average in April, 4.4 percent less than in April last year. In March, prices fell by 2.3 percent on an annual basis. The transaction price was still well above the lowest point in the housing market in June 2013. Buyers paid 87 percent more for a home in April than at that time.

Figures from the Land Registry show that almost 13,000 homes were sold in April. That is nearly 20 percent less than in April 2022. The number of home sale transactions in the four months of this year was over 11 percent lower compared to the same period last year. From January to April, over 53,000 homes changed hands.

Last month, De Nederlansche Bank reported, based on research, that it is particularly difficult for first-time buyers and single people to find an affordable home. This is due to, among other things, too few available homes for sale.

Figures from CBS last week already showed that the number of permits for housing construction was over a quarter lower in the first quarter than a year earlier. In total, permits were issued for building 12,000 homes, the lowest number since the second quarter of 2016.