Figures released recently by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) have revealed exactly how competitive the Dutch housing market currently is, with 73 percent of homes sold in 2021 going for over the asking price. 

Majority of houses sold for over the asking price

As anyone hoping to trade in their rental property for a home of their own knows, the task of trying to buy a house in the Netherlands in the current market is extremely difficult. While house prices are no longer rising at record-breaking rates, prospective buyers still face exceptionally high prices and competitive markets in cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht. 

Recent figures from CBS reveal precisely how difficult it is to buy as the Netherlands continues to face a growing shortage of social and free sector housing. According to the Dutch statistics office, purchase prices increasingly exceed asking prices, with almost three-quarters of the homes bought in 2021 being purchased for more than the asking price. 

“A whopping 73 percent of transaction prices were above their last known asking price,” CBS says. “If more homes are sold above the asking price, this is a sign of a tighter owner-occupied housing market.”

Trend of overbidding growing across the Netherlands

While in previous years, overbidding for properties was typically a phenomenon only observed in the biggest Dutch cities, in 2021 CBS observed that overbidding was a national trend and occurred in most municipalities. 

“In 2021, only a few municipalities sold on average below the asking price. This was mainly in municipalities with a relatively very high average transaction price, such as Blaricum, Laren and Wassenaar,” CBS explains. Meanwhile, “In 17 municipalities, the transaction price was on average 10 percent or more above the asking price.”