Scarcity remains the determining factor
For years, the Dutch housing market has been dominated by one factor: the number of new homes being built is lower than the number of new households being formed. In the Randstad—and certainly in The Hague—that gap is the widest. As long as that remains the case, prices will remain firmly supported.
That doesn't mean prices are only going up. Interest rates, purchasing power, and government policy all contribute to fluctuations within that trend. However, anyone who buys a home with the intention of living there for a long time is largely unaffected by those fluctuations.
The Role of Interest Rates
The mortgage interest rate determines how much you can borrow and, consequently, how much you can offer. A change of half a percent shifts the maximum borrowing capacity of an average household by tens of thousands of euros.
The effect is felt with a delay. After an interest rate cut, we first see an increase in the number of viewings, and only then do bids start coming in. So anyone following the market would be better off looking at the number of viewings per property rather than the monthly price index.
Sustainability is taken into account
These days, buyers factor in the total monthly cost, including utilities. A home with an F energy efficiency rating and single-pane windows costs significantly more per month than the mortgage payment alone would suggest, and that directly affects the price buyers are willing to pay.
For sellers, this means that insulating the roof, floor, and windows often pays for itself. For buyers, it means that a home with a poor energy efficiency rating offers opportunities, provided you realistically estimate the costs of making it more sustainable and help finance them.
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What This Means for Your Decision
For most people, trying to time the market is an illusion. What’s more important is whether the home fits your situation and whether the expenses will remain manageable even if circumstances change. That’s the first question we ask during our meeting.
Would you like to know how your neighborhood is developing and what that means for your plans? We’d be happy to share the figures from the past twelve months for your immediate area, including the ratio between the asking price and the actual sale price.