So, it’s officially happened: Dutch house prices have just reached their all-time high — in the history of Dutch housing. With this, we’ve surpassed the previous record from two years ago. (Hoo… ray? 🥲)
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in the Netherlands, the price of homes for sale reached a record high in April.
Unfortunately, what feels like a sick April Fools’ joke is actually a reality. According to the AD, the average transaction price for a home is now a whopping €453,984.
This is 7.5% higher than last year and 0.7% higher than the previous record from July 2022.
Why… oh why?
Why do we have this issue? You guessed it: there are too few available homes in the Netherlands and too many people looking to buy one.
READ MORE | Why is there a housing shortage in the Netherlands? The Dutch housing crisis explained
On top of that, over the past year, mortgage interest rates have slightly dropped while wages have increased, causing chaos in the Dutch housing market.
With around 300,000 homes too few, competition among home buyers is tough. Young first-time buyers are mostly affected by this.
In fact, as a single starter in the Netherlands, you currently have access to only about 3% of the housing market.
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And the worst part? As CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen tells the AD, we’ll likely be riding this wave for a while.
“If I look at the market conditions, I wouldn’t bet on a rapid decline,” he says.
Are you looking to buy a home in the Netherlands? Share your experience in the comments!
Fine. Rent it is then.