House prices have inched up in the second quarter of this year, although they are still 2.4% less than they were last year, reports estate agents organisation the NVM.

The body, which records the median figure from sales registered by its agent members, said that prices agreed from April to June were 2.8% higher than they were in the first financial quarter of 2023.

The number of homes on sale rose by almost a third, with around 32,000 properties listed with NVM members at the end of June – an increase of 28% on a year before. Although sales grew by a fifth on the first few months of the year, they were still 5% less than last year – reflecting the impact of trebled mortgage interest rates on buyers.

New build homes are still struggling, with 13% fewer sales than the same period a year ago because they are typically more expensive than existing homes.

Rental prices up

Quarterly figures reported by online rental portal Pararius suggest that the rental market is particularly tight. Advertised rentals have dropped by more than a quarter in the Netherlands’ five biggest figures and the price per square metre rose year on year by between 5% and 8%, it reported.

Since the introduction of a cap on prices related to the local housing tax value of apartments last May, which affects smaller apartments, the number of rentals available in the top five cities has dropped “drastically compared with the offering in the whole of the Netherlands,” the body says.

Concerns have previously been raised that the latest government proposals to control rental prices further and better protect tenants may also have the undesired consequence of reducing supply.

NVM figures represent a selection of sales and a sale contract rather than the actual exchange, but are considered a bellwether for housing market trends.