Housing market continues to cool: house prices have fallen sharpest since May 2013 | Inland

House prices in September were on average 0.7 percent lower than a month earlier, with a total of 17,631 relocations. In August, there was still a decline of 0.1 percent. CBS economist Frank Notten notes that the time for price increases is now “really a thing of the past”.

Compared to a year ago, owner-occupied houses are still almost 10 percent more expensive, but the difference on an annual basis is getting smaller by the month. At the beginning of this year, the statistical office reported the strongest price increase in decades, with a plus of about 21 percent.

The price decrease measured by Statistics Netherlands is not yet as extreme as the decrease recently calculated by the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM). According to the real estate agents, house prices fell almost 6 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous three months.

But CBS only processes house sales when notaries register with the Land Registry. The NVM’s figures are more incomplete, but are based on the moment the purchase contract is signed. That is earlier, which means that trends are often identified earlier.

Anyone who wants to buy a house in the near future should not be deterred by the fall in house prices, said President Klaas Knot of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) a week ago. He rather regarded the developments in the housing market as a “welcome relief”.

According to Knot, the falling house prices are mainly a result of rising mortgage rates. As a result, people can now borrow less. Ultimately, however, there should be a new equilibrium in the market.

Knot also pointed out that many homes are still being sold above the asking price and that there is still a major shortage of homes in the Netherlands. According to Knot, you should not see a house as an investment, but you buy a house because you want to live in it.