House prices continue to rise and the number of homes changing hands is also on the up, figures from real estate organisation NVM show.

Its member agents sold 37,277 houses in the third quarter of this year, a rise of 27% on a year ago. These are the best Q3 results since 2007, the association said.

Although sales and prices were down marginally on the second quarter, this is because fewer homes are sold in the summer months and the trend remains upwards. ‘I am convinced prices in the fourth quarter will be up again,’ NVM chairman Ger Hukker said in a statement. He expects a full year rise of between 4% and 4.5%.

The recovery in the housing market, which was first detected in the urban central belt known as the Randstad, has now spread out across the country, Hukker says.

In Amsterdam, there is a seller’s market, with fewer than five suitable properties on the market for every buyer.