Sale of newly built homes dropped 30% in third quarter

Over 3,800 newly-built homes were sold in the Netherlands in the third quarter of 2023, almost 30 percent less than a year earlier, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. The number of existing homes sold also decreased, but by much less at -9 percent.

While a 30 percent drop in newly built home sales is massive, the decrease was smaller than in the previous two quarters. “In the first two quarters of 2023, the number of transactions halved compared to a year earlier,” CBS said. A total of 10,436 newly-built homes were sold in the first three quarters of 2023 - the lowest number since CBS started tracking this figure in 2015.

Part of the problem is that newly built homes are increasingly expensive due to higher labor and material costs, among other things. The average price for a brand new home was almost 501,000 euros in the third quarter, 4,000 euros more than a year earlier. Adjusted for quality and type of home, prices increased by 1.9 percent. That came after a 1.8 percent increase in the second quarter.

At the same time, prices for existing owner-occupied homes were falling, making new homes seem even pricier in comparison. In the third quarter, the average existing home cost almost 418,000 euros, 4.6 percent lower than a year earlier. In the second quarter, prices fell 5.2 percent.

Last week, the realtors’ association NVM reported that existing home prices climbed again in the fourth quarter of 2023, rising 5.3 percent. The NVM publishes figures quicker than CBS because it bases its figures on when the sales process starts, not when it’s completed, and the ownership change is registered with the Land Registry, which is when CBS reports figures.

The NVM figures are also less complete than the statistics office’s. NVM’s figures are based only on their realtors’ transactions, while CBS includes all home sales.