Dutch home prices increased by 8.7 percent last year

The prices of existing owner-occupied homes in the Netherlands rose by an average of 8.7 percent last year, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported. In December, homes became 10.9 percent more expensive on average than in the same month a year earlier.

This increase is smaller than in the four preceding months. Compared to November last year, prices fell by 0.7 percent in December, the organizations found.

The prices of owner-occupied homes peaked in July 2022. The trend then reversed and homes became cheaper for a while. However, the trend has been rising again since June 2023. Last month, prices were on average 7.6 percent higher than the previous peak in July 2022.

Home buyers paid an average of over 455,500 euros for an existing owner-occupied home last month. According to the Land Registry, 203,555 homes exchanged hands last year, almost 12 percent more than in 2023.

Housing market experts have long pointed out the great importance of building new homes to get the housing market flowing. The government aims to structurally build 100,000 homes per year in the coming period. But this target remains out of sight.

Last year, approximately 82,000 homes were added to the housing stock through new construction or renovation of other buildings. That number is not only lower than in the previous six years but is also far from the target of 100,000 new homes per year. The Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning expects that too few homes will be added this year. The number will not rise to 100,000 homes until 2027.

Because buyers can pay more and there are still few homes for sale prices continue to rise. Buyers also have a greater borrowing capacity due to increased salaries and a slight decrease in mortgage interest rates.