Number of new-build transactions halved in Q2 2023

© Hollandse Hoogte / Hans van Rhoon
In Q2 2023, the number of new dwelling market transactions was down by over a half relative to one year previously. It is the largest decline since measurement of transactions began in 2015. This is evident from new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster) and Eurostat.
For new-build dwellings, the number of transactions declined at an increasingly rapid pace during 2022. In Q2 2023, the number dropped to 3.3 thousand transactions, down 56.2 percent from one year previously. As for existing owner-occupied dwellings, the number of transactions fell by 6.1 percent to over 44.5 thousand. This decline was smaller than in previous quarters, with an exception of Q4 2022.

A total of almost 48 thousand dwellings were sold in Q2 2023; 13 percent less than the previous year. This is the ninth consecutive quarter in which fewer dwellings were sold year on year.

Sold dwellings
JaarKwartaalNewly built owner-occupied dwellings (% year-on-year change)Existing owner-occupied dwellings (% year-on-year change)
2018Q1-9.4-6.8
2018Q2-6.2-9.3
2018Q3-8.5-7.3
2018Q4-13.8-14.6
2019Q1-6.6-9.0
2019Q2-9.9-0.8
2019Q3-5.43.5
2019Q4-20.15.6
2020Q113.58.7
2020Q225.64.6
2020Q321.85.6
2020Q453.511.9
2021Q13.829.2
2021Q29.8-3.9
2021Q313.1-13.4
2021Q40.1-21.0
2022Q12.7-34.1
2022Q2-13.6-10.2
2022Q3-34.0-6.4
2022Q4-50.6-2.8
2023Q1-52.5-7.9
2023Q2-56.2-6.1
Source: CBS, Kadaster

6.6 thousand new owner-occupied dwellings sold in first half of 2023

In Q1 and Q2 of 2023, a total of just over 6.6 thousand new owner-occupied dwellings were sold. This means the number of transactions dropped by 54.4 percent year on year. Since measurement began in 2015, there have never been so few transactions in the first half of a year, nor in two other consecutive quarters.

Number of new-build dwellings sold
 Q1Q2Q3Q4
202333023321
20226952758952915313
202167708785801410753
202065218001708410740
20195745637058186998
20186151706861538757
201767897535672210161
20165569684065508779
20155031665163508353
Source: CBS, Kadaster

Average price of a new dwelling: 496 thousand euros

The average transaction price of a new-build dwelling amounted to nearly 496 thousand euros. This is lower than in Q2 2022, when the average price was 514 thousand euros.

In Q2 2023, the type- and quality-adjusted price for a new-build dwelling was on average 1.7 percent higher than in the same quarter one year previously. The average transaction prices fell, while the price index went up. This is explained by the quality-adjusted index. The development of the average transaction price takes into account the development of both price and quality of dwellings sold and the price index only reflects the price effect.

For existing owner-occupied dwellings, the average year-on-year price decline was 5.2 percent. In Q2, the average transaction price of an existing owner-occupied dwelling was lower than that of a new-build dwelling and stood at nearly 406.5 thousand euros.

Prices of owner-occupied dwellings
JaarKwartaalNewly built owner-occupied dwellings (% year-on-year change)Existing owner-occupied dwellings (% year-on-year change)
2018Q111.59.0
2018Q211.78.8
2018Q316.39.2
2018Q410.29.0
2019Q19.57.9
2019Q216.07.2
2019Q36.36.3
2019Q48.76.2
2020Q14.66.6
2020Q24.27.5
2020Q310.28.1
2020Q48.78.8
2021Q116.810.3
2021Q213.113.0
2021Q312.417.5
2021Q414.219.6
2022Q113.920.3
2022Q216.518.4
2022Q3*13.611.9
2022Q4*6.65.1
2023Q1*3.5-0.7
2023Q2*1.7-5.2
Source: CBS, Kadaster
*preliminary figures

Price rises in 17 other EU countries continue

In Q2 2023, prices of both new and existing owner-occupied dwellings in the Netherlands were 4.3 percent lower than one year previously. This makes the Netherlands one of nine countries - along with Germany, Sweden and Denmark, among others - in which house prices fell.

On average, house prices in the European Union decreased by 1.1 percent in Q2 2023. The largest increases were seen in Croatia (13.7 percent) and Bulgaria (10.7 percent).
Prices of owner-occupied houses in European Union1), Q2 2023
LandPrices of owner-occupied dwellings (% year-on-year change)
Croatia13.7
Bulgary10.7
Lithuania9.4
Portugal8.7
Slovenia7.4
Poland7.0
Latvia5.6
Estonia5.0
Malta4.5
Spain3.7
Cyprus3.2
Ireland2.8
Hungary2.8
Belgium1.8
France0.7
Italy0.7
Romania0.1
Austria-0.3
European Union-1.1
Slovakia-1.9
Czechia-2.9
Netherlands-4.3
Finland-5.6
Luxembourg-6.4
Sweden-6.8
Denmark-7.6
Germany-9.9
Source: CBS, Eurostat
1)no figure available for Greece


The figures on new-build dwellings presented in this news release are provisional and subject to revision.

Sources

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