The cost of buying a house in the Netherlands has reached a record high, after new figures showed that average house prices have risen by more than 13 percent over the past year. 

Average house price in the Netherlands rises to 468.000 euros

New figures from NVM, an association of real estate agents, show that average sale prices rose by 7,2 percent in the last quarter alone, climbing to a record high of 468.000 euros. This tops the previous record of 451.000 euros which was set in the same quarter of 2022. Since the second quarter of 2023, they have risen by a huge 13,6 percent.  

According to NVM, such an exceptional increase “has only occurred once before since 1995”. It follows five quarters of consistent growth after a slight dip in the market in the third quarter of 2022. NVM said that “even for a housing market that has been overheated for years, this is an unprecedented price increase”, RTL reports. 

Rising salaries and stabilising mortgage rates fuelling growth

According to Lana Gerssen from NVM, there are a few reasons why house prices are growing so rapidly at the moment: namely higher salaries, lower interest rates on mortgages, and a tight situation on the housing market. 

That people felt they had extra money to spend could shows in the fact that two-thirds of homes were sold above the asking price in the second quarter of 2024. On average, the sale price was 4,3 percent higher than the listing price. According to NVM, two-thirds of transactions now proceed by tender, which means that all interested buyers must submit a best and final offer, and the seller gets to choose the highest bid. 

Of the 35.000 homes sold by NVM estate agents in April, May and June 2024, each was on the market for an average of just 27 days before being sold, which is a decrease of seven days compared to the previous quarter. 

Buying a house increasingly unaffordable for vast majority of people

NVM expressed concern about the extreme price rise, with Gersson quoted as saying: “We are concerned about price developments and affordability in the longer term with this tight supply and high demand.” The statistics show that the proportion of homes that would be affordable for someone on an average income (an asking price of around 300.000 euros, excluding taxes and other fees) has fallen to 16 percent, the lowest it’s ever been. That means more and more people are being priced out of the market. 

The only bright spot on the report is the fact that the supply of housing in the Netherlands is increasing: there were 13 percent more homes on offer in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Over the last three months, 9.700 new homes came onto the market, the highest number since the final quarter of 2020. While stressing that this was a positive sign, NVM said that this was not enough to meet increasing demand.