THE HAGUE, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Dutch house prices increased by 9.7 percent year-on-year in June, marking the largest increase in two years, according to data released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Monday.
CBS noted that Dutch house prices have rebounded after last peaking in July 2022. Following this peak, the market saw a downturn, but prices have been on the rise again since June 2023. By June 2024, prices had climbed an average of 3.2 percent compared to the previous peak in July 2022.
The second quarter of 2024 witnessed an increase in housing prices across all 12 provinces in the Netherlands, said CBS. Utrecht, Flevoland, and Groningen led the surge with increases of 12.1 percent, 10.4 percent, and 9.9 percent, respectively.
The volume of house transactions also reflected this upward trend. Approximately 92,000 homes changed hands in the first half of this year, representing a nearly 9 percent increase compared to the same period last year, CBS reported.
A report from the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM), released in early July, showed a 13.6 percent rise in house prices, reaching a new record-high average of 468,000 euros (510,120 U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of 2024.
This surpasses the previous record of 451,000 euros set two years ago, with prices rising for five consecutive quarters following a brief market decline, according to the NVM report.
The NVM attributed the rising house prices to several factors, including a persistent housing shortage, wage increases, declining mortgage interest rates, and growing consumer confidence. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollar) ■