Dutch house prices up in June, highest price increase recorded in Amsterdam
Prices of owner-occupied houses, excluding new constructions, were on average 2.6 percent higher in June 2015 than in June 2014. House prices have been above the level of the same month in the preceding year for more than twelve months now. The most substantial price increase was recorded in Amsterdam. Since the summer of 2013, prices of owner-occupied houses, excluding new constructions, have risen marginally as the price index of owner-occupied houses – a joint publication by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Land Registry Office – shows.
Prices nearly 5 percent up from dip in June 2013
The average price level of owner-occupied houses was at approximately the same level in June 2015 as in October 2003. Dutch house prices reached a low point in June 2013, but since then residential property prices have risen modestly. House prices were 4.9 percent higher in June 2015 than in June 2013, but still 17.6 percent below the peak level recorded in August 2008.
House sales continue to rise
According to figures released by the Dutch Land Registry Office last Friday, 15,147 residential units were sold in June, an increase by nearly 34 percent relative to June 2014. In the first six months of this year, 75,249 homes were sold, i.e. a 19.4 percent increase from twelve months previously.
Highest year-on-year price increase in North Holland and the four major cities
With the publication of the monthly figure for June, Statistics Netherlands also publishes more detailed information on price developments by region and type of dwelling. In the first quarter as well as in the second quarter of 2015, average house prices were higher than one year previously across all Dutch provinces.
With 5.4 percent, house prices increased most in the province of North Holland and least in the province of Overijssel. The average year-on-year price rise in Overijssel was 0.7 percent.
In the four major cities, residential property prices rose more rapidly than on average in the Netherlands. Especially in Amsterdam, the price increase was considerable (8.1 percent). Dwellings in the municipality of Utrecht were 5.3 percent up from the second quarter of 2014; in The Hague and Rotterdam, the average price increases were 4.3 and 3.3 percent respectively.
All types of dwellings more expensive
Just as in the preceding four quarters, prices of all types of dwellings have risen in the second quarter of 2015. Prices of flats and terraced houses grew most rapidly, by 3.3 percent; prices of detached houses increased the least, by 1.2 percent.
Reduction upper limit National Mortgage Guarantee applies to nearly 8 percent of dwellings sold in the second quarter
Since 1 July, the maximum purchasing price (including restoration costs) to qualify for a mortgage issued under the National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG) scheme has been lowered from 250,000 to 231,132 euros. Nearly 8 percent of all dwellings sold in the second quarter had a purchasing price in that price range. These were mainly terraced houses.
Source, StatLine:
For more information on economic indicators, see the Economic Monitor.