House prices rise less rapidly, but a house does not suddenly become cheaper | NOW

Houses were on average 18.8 percent more expensive in May than a year ago, Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry reported on Wednesday. That is almost 1 percent less than in April. Also in February and March, prices rose less rapidly each month than the month before.

At the beginning of the corona crisis, the prices of owner-occupied houses rose faster and faster. While there was an additional 6.3 percent in January 2020, that was more than four times as much in January of this year. In February and March the increase moderated slightly and in April it stabilized at 19.7 percent.

Although recently there has been talk of a possible cooling of the housing market, prices are still rising sharply compared to a year earlier. “House prices have risen less rapidly since January, but that does not mean that it is suddenly easier to buy a house,” said chief economist of CBS Peter Hein van Mulligen.

Since last autumn, the prices of owner-occupied homes have risen by about 20 percent every month. “This is now slowly leveling out, but a less sharp price increase does not suddenly make a house cheaper.”

In June 2013, the prices of owner-occupied homes reached a low point. Since then, there has been an upward trend. Compared to the trough of nine years ago, prices have almost doubled in May 2022.

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