Dutch house prices are expected to rise by an average of 3.1 percent this year, a much smaller increase than the 8.6 percent recorded in 2025. According to RaboResearch, demand for owner‑occupied homes remains strong, but several temporary factors are adding supply to the market. These include the sale of former rental properties—known as the wave of individual sales—and a short‑term increase in new construction. The bank expects these developments to slow price growth this year. By 2027, however, price increases are projected to accelerate again to around 4.1 percent as shortages intensify.
Economist Stefan Groot says the price growth for existing homes has been easing since late 2024. “In January, prices were on average 5.4 percent higher than a year earlier. That’s a sharp drop from the 11.9 percent peak at the end of 2024. Buyers still paid about €25,000 more than a year earlier, but the market is clearly levelling off”.
Groot attributes much of the slowdown to the surge in individual sales. “In 2025, investors sold a net total of 36,000 homes to owner‑occupiers, representing more than 15 percent of all transactions. This influx of former rental properties has temporarily eased the shortage”.
Even so, the underlying scarcity remains severe. “The time it takes to sell a home increased only slightly last year, and current estimates show a shortage of around 410,000 homes in 2026. The fact that prices continue to rise despite the extra supply shows how deep the structural shortage really is”, Groot says.
anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
