House prices up 7.33% during 2020
The Netherlands’ house prices continue to rise strongly, buoyed by record low interest rates. Supply is unable to keep up with the strong demand. The average purchase price of all dwellings rose by 7.33% during 2020, about double the 3.66% growth recorded in 2019. On a quarterly basis, house prices increased 0.93% during the latest quarter.
Home sales are rising amidst supply shortages
During 2020, the number of dwellings sold rose by 7.7% to 235,511 units from the previous year, following zero growth in 2019, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
During 2020, dwelling completions fell by 3.1% from a year earlier, to 69,322 completions – inadequate to meet the surging demand. The housing shortage in the Netherlands was estimated at about 200,000 units this year.
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: typical 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 | € 438,360 | € 2,050 | 5.61% |
Recent news: The Dutch economy contracted by 3.8% in 2020 from a year earlier, following 1.7% growth in 2019, mainly due to a decline in household consumption, investments and the trade balance, according to CBS. This contraction is slightly worse than the 3.7% contraction in 2009 and the biggest decline ever recorded by CBS.
The economy is projected to grow by 1.8% this year and another 3% in 2022, according to the European Commission. The Dutch economy grew by an annual average of just 1.4% from 2010 to 2019.
