Dutch house prices reached record high in May 2024

Based on figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Dutch land registry (Kadaster), the prices of Dutch housing were 8,6 percent higher in May 2024 compared with the same month last year. House prices have been rising steadily since last year and this latest increase brings the cost of housing to a record high.

High property prices expected to continue rising

House prices in the Netherlands reached a peak in July 2022, before declining for the following year. In June of 2023, prices started increasing again to reach a pinnacle in May 2024. The average price for an existing owner-occupied house in May was 445.430 euros. This is 1,1 percent higher than April 2024 and a whopping 1,8 percent higher than the average house price for the previous peak period.

Economists and housing market experts expect this trend to continue with each month seeing new record-high housing prices. Part of the reason for this is that wages have been increasing faster than the prices of goods so people can afford to spend more when purchasing a home.  Another reason is the limited availability of housing in the country urging prospective buyers to spend more on a mortgage to secure a home. 

More housing transactions despite higher prices

Despite soaring prices, within the first five months of this year, almost 78.000 homes had already been bought and sold with 17.591 transactions taking place in May alone. This is an increase of 14 percent for the total and 16,5 percent higher than for the same month in 2023.

Many rental properties are expected to go on sale due to new regulations being proposed by the government. Tax breaks being cut and the new Affordable Rent Act means that properties could become more affordable which means transactions will likely continue to increase, but this could also worsen the Dutch housing shortage in the long run as there will not be as many new properties being built.