If you moved to the Netherlands with just a suitcase and a dream of owning a classic Dutch home precariously perched on the canal, bad news: Dutch house prices are continuing to skyrocket.
We wish we were exaggerating, but that stats don’t lie: on average, an owner-occupied home bought in February last year was 10.4% more expensive just 12 months later.
If you’re not one for percentages, let’s put that into perspective: if a home was €300,000 in February 2020, that exact same home now costs over €330,000, based on last month’s figures. Um, ouch.
The jump is the highest rise in almost 20 years, according to numbers from the CBS and Land Registry. Housing prices last decreased eight years ago, with a steady upward trend since 2013.
Wait — the housing market was meant to dip during corona, right?
It’s true that at the start of the pandemic there were thoughts that the Dutch housing market could drop, resulting in more affordable housing for those in the market.
However, one year on and this is not the case — and isn’t likely to be anytime soon. In fact, the pandemic may have caused a rise in housing prices, CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told ANP. It turns out that people have a lot more money jangling in their pockets when they can’t go on holiday or out to dinner.
To add fuel to the fire, mortgage interest rates remain low and the Dutch housing crisis continues. This is resulting in bidding wars for the few houses that are for sale, forcing starters (young adults who haven’t owned a house before) out of the market.
Are you trying to buy a house? Tell us your experience in the comments below!
Feature Image: Jeroen Stoop/Wikimedia Commons/CC3.0
