Record number of Dutch homes go on sale as landlords sell up

A record number of homes went up for sale in the Netherlands over the past three months, according to the estate agents’ association NVM.

Some 56,700 existing homes were newly listed with NVM agents between April and June – the most in a single quarter since the association began keeping records in 1995.

The flood of new listings has continued to slow the pace of price rises. The average sale price hit a record €506,000, back above half a million euros, but that was just 2.1% higher than a year earlier – below the rate of inflation, which the national statistics agency CBS put at 2.9% in June.

Landlords selling up
Much of the extra supply comes from former rental properties, as landlords continue to offload homes in response to tighter rent controls and higher taxes. Because these are often cheaper apartments, they drag down the average price.

The trend has left buyers with more choice and, in some places, lower prices. In Amsterdam, average prices fell 2.9% year on year, with declines also recorded in the Achterhoek and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.

Around 45,000 homes changed hands over the quarter, up 6.6% on the same period last year. Prices also fell in the first quarter, with wide regional differences.

Shortage still there
“The housing market is moving step by step towards a better balance. We see that above all in the record number of homes coming onto the market,” said Lana Goutsmits-Gerssen, chair of the NVM’s housing group.

She said the extra supply was stopping prices from rising sharply but warned the underlying problems remained. “We should not conclude that the housing shortage has been solved.”

The NVM called the current relief temporary, saying too much of the new supply was small starter apartments that do little to free up larger family homes – an issue buy-to-let sales have worsened in cities such as Amsterdam.