The situation of bids in the Dutch property market can be regarded as a barometer of the property market. Earlier this year, three-quarters of the bids of Dutch people when buying a home were above the industry's main price, and home brokerage Makelaarsland reported that this is now happening in less than half of the cases.
According to the brokerage, this is the first time since 2020 that the bid has been lower than the high price.
According to Makelaarsland's own data report, in August, 45.9 percent of cases bid below asking, compared to 45.6 percent above asking. Manager Gijs van Wijgerden said: "This is another sign that the property market is cooling. ”
From January to July of this year, the proportion of bids above asking was 74.8%. Makelaarsland bills itself as the "largest online broker" in the broker association NVM.
Van Wigden said: "The property market has been reversing since the beginning of the year and this trend continues now. Due to economic uncertainty and developments such as rising mortgage rates, there has been a persistent cautious attitude in the market, and new construction can also be seen stagnating, which is not conducive to the flow of the market. ”
But according to Makelaarsland's manager, the price of the home has not yet fallen. "After the madness of recent years, the ball kicked to the seller's side, but I haven't seen any big drop in house prices yet."
According to Makelaarsland, the time from listing to successful sale is also longer, at 44 days, an increase of 4 days compared to August last year.
The average number of house visits per real estate agent firm increased slightly in August compared to July, which may be related to seasonal factors. On the other hand, the three-month average fell again, which is already the sixth consecutive decline. "Last year, the average number of views on a house was 13.3, compared to 9.6 this year," he said. ”
According to Makelaarsland, high spending in the four major cities of the Netherlands, namely Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utre, is more common than elsewhere. In 2022, on average, buyers in these cities bid more than they asked in 78.4% of cases.
The rental market showed its biggest increase since 2014
In July, rents in the Netherlands averaged 3% higher than in the previous 12 months. According to cbs, the Dutch Central Statistical Office, it is the largest annual increase since 2014. Interest group Woonbond is concerned about the sharp increase in rents.
The Bureau of Statistics examined the prices of government-managed social housing and the private sector, and the rents of the latter category rose the fastest in a year, at 3.8 per cent, while residents of social housing paid an average of 2.6 per cent more.
Rents in Amsterdam rose the most among the four major cities, with rents in the capital rising by an average of 3.6%; The city of Utrecht is close behind with 3.5%.
Among the Dutch provinces, the fastest rent increase was in North Holland, with an increase of 3.4%; Drenthe and Friesland saw the most limited increases at 2.5 percent.
Since July 1 this year, the rental policy has been adjusted. Unlike in 2021, the price of social rental housing is likely to rise, which is done on a fixed amount based on the income of tenants.
For private homes rented out on the free market, rent increases in 2022 are limited to the average inflation rate plus 1 percentage point from December 2020 to November 2021, which means that rents for residents are likely to increase by up to 3.3%.
These figures relate to rental price developments with and without tenant changes. When the house has new tenants, the landlord may add more rent. Therefore, if changes in tenants are taken into account, rental growth will be stronger.