House prices remained virtually the same as in January

Relative to January, the price index for existing owner-occupied dwellings increased by 0.1 percent in February. House prices reached a low in June 2013; they subsequently followed an upward trajectory until August 2022. That trend was reversed and prices fell until June 2023, but since then house prices have been on the rise again. In February, house prices were 9.6 percent higher than at their previous peak in July 2022, on average.

More housing transactions in February

According to The Netherlands’ Cadastre, the total number of housing transactions recorded in the month of February was 16,356, which was over 18 percent more than one year previously. In the first two months of this year, a total of 34,263 homes changed owners. This represents a year-on-year increase of over 21 percent.

In February, the average transaction price for owner-occupied dwellings was 467,363 euros. The average selling price may show a different trend than the price index for existing owner-occupied dwellings published by CBS and The Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency. Unlike the price index, the average transaction price does not take into account differences in the quality of dwellings. In order to determine price changes for existing owner-occupied dwellings, it is therefore better to look at the price index.