First-time buyers in large cities benefited most from home price decrease

First-time buyers who entered the housing market in the big cities benefited most from falling house prices in the second quarter. The Land Registry said this in its quarterly report. First-time buyers who bought a home in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, or The Hague paid an average of 8.3 percent less than a year ago.

From April to June, first-time buyers paid 339,000 euros on average for their new home. Nationally, that is a price decrease of 4.9 percent compared to the same period last year. People moving from one owned home to another paid an average of 458,000 euros for their new home, 3.6 percent less than a year earlier.

Strikingly, between 2019 and 2022, the prices for starter homes rose faster than those of homes for people moving up the ladder. The fall in average home prices now shows a similar trend.

Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday that house prices had risen by 0.2 percent in June. It was the first month-to-month increase in several months. On an annual basis, house prices were lower in June, according to Statistics Netherlands.

The Land Registry also noted a considerable difference in home prices between municipalities. The difference between the most expensive and cheapest municipality is no less than 865,000 euros. Home buyers in Bloemendaal spend an average of 1.1 million euros. In Pekela, Groningen, the average house costs 212,000 euros.