House prices rise again in January, ending five months of decline

House prices rose slightly in January after five months of steady decline, according to new figures based on completed transactions from national statistics agency CBS and the land registry office Kadaster.

The average price paid for an existing property was up 1.5% on December, the agencies said. House prices had risen steadily since June 2013 but fell in the five months to December as interest rates rose, reducing borrowing power. In December itself the drop was 2%.

Year on year, house prices were up just 1.1% while the number of deals finalised fell 6.6%. The year on year rise was the lowest in nine years.

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Economists have suggested that house prices will go down by a further 6% in 2023, in line with 2022, and may fall again next year.

CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen said the price rise is ‘somewhat surprising’ but did not necessarily mean that downward trend had come to an end.

‘To be honest, I really don’t know why [prices have risen],’ he told the Financieele Dagblad.

Kadaster housing expert Paul de Vries said the January rise is a seasonal effect. ‘December is always the worst month, and in January we often have a good month where we see a plus,’ he said. ‘It’s the seasonal effect. But you should never look month on month [for trends]. The average figure is very volatile, like a heartbeat.’