Trend: house prices up 7.24% y-o-y in Q2 2018

The Netherlands’ house prices continue to rise strongly, mainly due to robust demand, coupled with lack of adequate housing supply in the market. The average purchase price of all dwellings rose by 7.24% during the year to Q2 2018, slightly up from the previous year’s 6.39% growth. On a quarterly basis, house prices were up 0.85% during the latest quarter.

Analysis: Demand remains strong but supply is inadequate

During 2017, there were 241,860 houses sold, an increase of almost 13% from a year earlier, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The strong demand was fuelled by low interest rates, as well as strong economic growth. However in the first seven months of 2018, home sales dropped more than 7% from a year earlier to 124,615 units, mainly due to worsening supply shortages.

Rents, rental yields: attractive yields for a developed economy at 3.7% to 6.4%

Amsterdam apartment costs are around €6,900 per sq. m.

Netherlands: city centre apartment, buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
  Buying price Rate per month Yield
Amsterdam € 828,240 € 2,569 3.72%
The Hague € 436,360 € 2,050 5.61%

Recent news: The Dutch economy grew by 3.1% in 2017, the highest growth since 2007, amidst strong investments and exports, according to the CBS. The Netherlands' GDP is expected to grow by another 3.2% this year and by 2.4% in 2019, according to the IMF.