Absolute record year in housing market

Realtors had an absolute record year with nearly 165,000 homes sold. The average selling price rose by almost 9 percent.

This was reported by the Dutch Cooperative Association of Estate Agents and Valuers NVM U.A. (NVM) on Thursday. Last quarter, the average selling price was 248,000 euros, 9 percent more than in the same period a year earlier and only 2 percent lower than at its pre-crisis peak.

Realtors helped more homes change hands in 2016 than ever before. The number of 165,000 is more than double the number from 2011-2013.

''Interest rates are low and there is economic growth, the housing market is benefiting from that,'' NVM chairman Ger Jaarsma summed up the cause of the housing mania.

The 15% increase in transactions is mainly due to regions outside the Randstad. In the provinces of Gelderland (+31%), Flevoland (+29%), Overijssel (+28%) and Drenthe (+26%) more than a quarter more was sold last quarter than in the same quarter a year earlier.

Balance

Jaarsma notes that many regions in the Netherlands are "catching up" after the already dry-boiling housing market in the Randstad: "A good thing, not only for the regions concerned, it also creates more balance in the housing market," he believes.

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In the last quarter of 2016, nearly 45,800 existing homes for sale changed hands. This is 15% more than a year ago. The average price of a home sold is almost 20% higher than at its low point in 2013. In the process, they are also being sold faster with 23 days. A year ago, a home stood for sale for an average of 78 days.

Growth

However, Jaarsma does foresee that the enormous housing craze from 2017 will not repeat itself in the same way in the coming year: "In 2017, the big growth in the number of transactions will be off. But I expect we will still see over 5% growth this year. On the other hand, too few homes are being offered for sale to meet demand. As a result, housing prices are rising relatively fast. And that makes it even more difficult for first-time buyers to buy a suitable home, especially with the current strict financing rules."

Source: the Telegraph