As a home seeker, it undoubtedly sounds good: ‘Buyer has a slightly better chance of entering the Drentse housing market’. It was the headline of an article in response to the quarterly figures of the NVM real estate association, which were released today.
However, this news also causes a split in the housing market. Because where existing owner-occupied homes are now becoming a little more popular, new-build homes are becoming increasingly expensive. And for many people even unaffordable.
“Prices fell slightly last quarter. So people see more opportunities in the existing market,” explains Arjan Lamberink. He is director of new construction at Lamberink brokers & advisors. According to him, the interest is mainly in the more expensive housing segment.
If you look at the price difference on the new-build market compared to that of existing homes, that difference is increasing. “This is partly due to the rising construction costs and land prices,” says Lamberink.
Although he emphasizes that there are still plenty of people who see the advantages of new homes. Namely sustainable and energy-efficient construction and low maintenance.
Of course those are nice advantages, but then it must of course be affordable. If you now pay an average of 394,000 euros for an existing home, that is 468,000 euros for a new-build home. And that makes new homes inaccessible to consumers, a worrying development according to the NVM.
As mentioned, these are often homes in the more expensive segment. According to Lamberink, it is mainly young families who want to take the next step towards a house with more space. But they are now more often moving to existing housing. And why would you, as a construction company, put a shovel in the ground if consumers withdraw?