House prices in the Netherlands fell by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the final three months of last year, the estate agents’ organisation NVM said on Thursday.

Year on year, prices are still nearly 10% higher, but in the larger cities in particular, prices appear to be levelling off, the agency said. The NVM represents around 70% of estate agencies in the Netherlands.

The decline is most noticeable in Amsterdam, where prices dropped by 4.2% compared with the previous quarter – the second consecutive quarterly fall. In The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam, prices were down by a maximum of 1.5%.

The NVM attributes the dip to a rise in small landlords selling off their properties due to stricter rent controls. Two in five homes sold in Amsterdam and the other major cities were previously rented out.

The average sale price of a home in the first quarter was €473,000, but the figure for former rental properties was significantly lower at €404,000.

Most of the former rental homes on the market are smaller, lower-priced apartments that now fall under tighter rental regulations. The government has also ended the option for landlords to offer two-year rental contracts.

In total, NVM-affiliated agents sold 33,600 properties between January and the end of March, an increase of 13% compared with the same period last year.

The CBS, which reports on completed deals deposited at the land registry office, has not yet published its figures for March. However it said that February prices were virtually unchanged on January.

The CBS also said the number of completed transactions in January and February was up 21% on a year ago, indicating again an increase in supply.

Housing minister Mona Keijzer has pledged to come up with measures to stop so many urban rental homes being removed from the market later this month. Sources suggest she may get rid of the ban on two-year contracts.