House prices in the Netherlands are now not only rising at a slower rate; they’re actually falling. According to figures from real estate association NVM, the average cost of buying a house in the Netherlands fell by 5,8 percent between the second and third quarters of 2022, the largest quarter-on-quarter drop ever recorded.
House prices across the Netherlands have been rising steadily since the market reached a low point in 2013. While recent forecasts predicted that house prices would fall by the end of 2023, the most recent insights prove that the Dutch housing market is officially and finally cooling off.
NVM reports that, while house prices rose by 2 percent between last summer and the end of September 2022, the average price of a house fell from 450.561 euros to 425.380 euros between the second and third quarters of this year - a drop of approximately 5,8 percent.
"The extremely heated market of the past year and a half has reached a turning point," NVM chair Lana Gerssen told NOS. She explained that the falling prices can be attributed to a number of factors, including the high interest rates on mortgages, the rising cost of energy, and the record-breaking rate of inflation.
In some of the most competitive cities and regions, prices have experienced an even bigger drop; Ijmond, Haarlem and Amsterdam all saw their average property prices fall by between 8 and 9 percent. Regions such as Friesland and Southeast Drenthe, however, experienced a slight increase.
While the outlook is certainly looking a lot more positive for prospective buyers, Gerssen emphasised that the Netherlands is still a long way away from having a “normal” housing market: "With more supply, the options for buyers increase. That can also help first-time buyers. But with a shortage of more than 300.000 homes, our brokers still have to say no to many prospective buyers."