Consumers are beginning to have a little more faith in the Dutch housing market, according to ING researchers on Thursday.

The bank’s confidence index rose 20 points in the second quarter of this year to 102 – the first time there have been more optimists than pessimists since 2010, the bank said. In particular, people expect more houses to change hands but one in five say prices will start rising again as well.

‘Lots of people think now is the right time to buy a house,’ mortgage marketing director Dennis Noordervliet said. ‘There is a lot of supply, prices are attractive and rents are going up.’

Rabobank researchers said earlier this month the end of the housing market dip is in sight, as the fall in both sales and prices begin to level off.

The average house sale price in the Netherlands has fallen some 20% since the beginning of the economic crisis. Tens of thousands of home owners are now in negative equity, meaning they paid more for their home than it is worth