Prices of owner-occupied dwellings up 4.1 percent in December

In December 2007, prices of Dutch owner-occupied dwellings were 4.1 percent up on December 2006. In the three preceding months prices increased by 4.4 percent. Compared with December 2006, the most substantial increases were recorded in the provinces North Holland and Utrecht; purchase prices in Overijssel and Limburg rose by least.

Prices of detached houses and apartments rose by more than average, those of terraced and semi-detached houses by less than average. The increase in the prices of end-of-terrace houses equalled the average price increase for all housing types.

Nearly 20 thousand existing owner-occupied dwellings changed hands in December 2007. About half of these were located in the West of the country: in the provinces North and South Holland, Utrecht en Zeeland.

Over all 2007, the prices of existing owner-occupied dwellings sold were 4.2 percent higher than in 2006. Price rises have fluctuated only little in recent years, and have been around 4 percent for 5 years in a row now.

Starting from January 2008, in collaboration with the official Dutch land registry (Kadaster), Statistics Netherlands (CBS) is to publish purchase prices of owner-occupied dwellings. The price index of owner-occupied dwellings measures the purchase prices of existing owner-occupied dwellings in the Netherlands sold to private persons. Detailed breakdowns by type of dwelling and by region are also available. An explanation is given in the article “Price-index of owner-occupied dwellings: method description”.

Prices of owner-occupied dwellings