According to new figures from the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents and Appraisers (NVM), house prices in the Netherlands have risen yet again to what is now a new record high. On average, house prices in the second quarter of 2018 rose by 10,4 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

Soaring house prices in the Netherlands

In the second quarter of 2018, almost 39.000 houses changed hands, 11 percent less than a year ago. This is the fourth quarter in a row that house sales have declined. The price for a house on the Dutch housing market reached new heights, at 288.000 on average.

A further price increase of 8 to 10 percent is expected by the NVM this year, with decreases in the number of sales by 7 to 10 percent. According to the NVM, it is only a matter of time before the average price for a house reaches 300.000. They expect this figure to be met at the start of 2019.

Of the different types of accommodation in the Netherlands, the greatest price increase can be seen for apartments, namely more than 16 percent. Single-family homes saw increases of between 7,3 and 8,6 percent in price.

The housing supply in the Netherlands has decreased by a third in a year’s time. The resulting scarcity is evident in the number of days a house is on the market before it is sold, which is now 45 days, 16 less than it was last year in the second quarter and the fewest it has been since the year 2000. A third of houses were also bought for a sum above their asking price.

All over the Netherlands, the increase in house prices can be seen, however, a few areas exhibited extreme increases. Amsterdam witnessed the largest increase with 19,1 percent in the second quarter of 2018. Tilburg / Oirschot was second with 17,6 percent and The Hague had the third highest increase of prices with 17,5 percent.

There is only one region in the Netherlands which hasn’t experienced a rise in house prices, and that is Northeast Groningen. Earthquakes are behind this exception.

Dutch new builds even more expensive

According to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and Kadaster, during the first quarter of 2018 prices for existing houses increased by 9,3 percent compared to the previous year. This is almost double the average increase for Europe.

Whilst the price increase for existing houses was already hefty, the increase for new build homes exceeded this, prices increasing by 11,2 percent. Prices for new build homes in the first quarter of 2018 were more than 350.000 euros on average. Three years ago, prices were, on average, 260.000 euros in the same quarter. That is an increase of almost 100.000 euros in three year’s time.

No quick solution

There is no short-term solution for the housing deficit. In the long-term however, the solution is to build 75.000 houses per year. This has been agreed upon by several parties and laid down in the National Housing Agenda. At the moment, the Netherlands has a shortage of 200.000 houses.