Home seekers still overbidding on large scale despite cooling market
The Dutch housing market is cooling down slightly, but home seekers are still overbidding on a large scale. In the first quarter of this year, 67 percent of homes were sold above asking price. The average bid was 3.7 percent higher than the asking price. That means that a home listed for €500,000, on average, sold for at least €518,500, NU.nl reports based on figures from the realtors association NVM.
The number of homes for sale increased by over 20 percent in the first quarter of 2026, compared to a year earlier. Buyers, therefore, had more time to decide whether they want to make an offer and how high that offer should be. Despite this, overbidding is still the norm.
The amount bid above the asking price varied by region and type of home. Bids were generally higher for terraced homes than semi-detached ones, and higher in the city than in more rural areas.
Real estate agent Patrice van den Buijs, who works in Nuenen and the surrounding area, told NU.nl that he always warns buyers that they will almost certainly pay more than the asking price in the current market. “It is the madness of the market that people nowadays bid much more than the house is actually worth,” he said.
Van den Buijs warned that appraisers - the person who determines the market value of a home - do not always go along with overbidding. If you bid €450,000 on a home appraised for €430,000, you’ll have to bring that extra €20,000 to the table with your own funds.
Michiel Meijer of De Hypotheekshop told the newspaper that overbidding is highest for homes in the segment between €400,000 and €700,000. “This is a vulnerable group, because these are often people who already have to borrow the maximum amount just to put together a high enough bid. Nothing else can go wrong. Think of renovation costs that suddenly turn out to be higher.”
According to Meijer, it is wise to always keep a buffer on hand and not to use all your savings on bidding for a home. Also consider how long you actually want to live in that home. "A few years ago, the housing market was still on an upward trend, and you knew there was a good chance you would sell again at a profit. Now you see that prices are rising less rapidly. If you want to sell, then you might not get more than what you paid for it."
