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House prices continue to tumble as sales slump

The slump in the Dutch housing market shows no signs of easing. House prices fell by 3.4 per cent in February compared to 12 months earlier, a figure marginally worse than January’s rate of 3.3 per cent.

The lack of confidence among buyers is also reflected in a fall-off in the number of houses sold by 22.4 per cent over the last year. 

Every part of the country recorded a drop in value, with the north-eastern province of Groningen showing the steepest decline at 7 per cent.

The figures from Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek/CBS) show all types of property losing value, but apartments are worst affected.

Analysts from the Rabobank forecast a fall of about 5 per cent nationwide during 2012, half of which is expected to be an ‘overflow effect’ from the last three months of 2011.

‘The remaining 2.5 per cent fall in price during the year will be the result of a mismatch between supply and demand in 2012,’ Rabobank’s analysts wrote in a market report.

Source: Financieel Dagblad: Prijsdaling koopwoning houdt aan

Photo by Amsterdam Herald

See also: Statistics Netherlands website (in English)

Read previous story: House prices to fall by five per cent in 2012