Dutch House Prices Rise 3.4%, but Regional Data Reveal Local Divides

Prices of existing homes in the Netherlands rose 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, but the national increase conceals a growing number of local markets where prices are now lower than a year ago. Thirteen municipalities recorded annual declines, compared with six in the previous quarter.

The national growth rate also cooled from 4.2% in the second quarter and 5.2% in the first. Across most of the country prices were still rising, though the new municipal figures show how uneven that increase has become. Woudenberg led with a 14.6% gain, while Best had the steepest decline at 4.6%.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Dutch Land Registry, Kadaster, published the municipal breakdown on November 11. The figures measure annual changes in an index of prices for existing owner-occupied homes, rather than the advertised prices of homes or the average amount paid in individual sales. That distinction matters when comparing places with very different housing markets.

Woudenberg leads as local price declines spread

The largest increases were concentrated in a group of municipalities that substantially outpaced the 3.4% national rate. After Woudenberg, Oldebroek recorded a 14.1% annual rise and Asten gained 14.0%. Berg en Dal followed at 13.3%, while both Simpelveld and Noardeast-Fryslân registered 12.9%. These are changes in local price indices, not increases in the value of every property in those areas.

At the other end of the distribution, existing-home prices fell 4.6% in Best, 4.4% in Hillegom and 3.6% on Texel. IJsselstein recorded a 2.6% decline, with Veldhoven down 1.4%. Larger places were not entirely exempt: Eindhoven, Delft and Zaanstad each registered a 0.8% fall. Haarlem and Schouwen-Duiveland also had small negative annual readings.

Some of those markets changed direction from the previous quarter’s year-over-year readings. Best had posted a 0.4% increase in the second quarter before its 4.6% decline in the third. Texel went from a 3.5% rise to a 3.6% fall, while Hillegom’s decrease deepened from 2.5% to 4.4%. These comparisons show a shift in annual growth rates; they should not be read as direct measures of quarter-to-quarter price changes.

The count of declining municipalities has climbed in successive quarters: one in the first quarter, six in the second and 13 in the third. Most of the roughly 320 municipalities covered by the more detailed series still registered gains. The increase in negative readings therefore points to a broader local slowdown, rather than a nationwide fall in existing-home prices.

Northern and eastern provinces remain ahead of the west

The municipality-level pattern fits a broader regional divide. Prices generally rose faster in the north and east of the Netherlands than in the west. In the separate provincial figures for the same quarter, Fryslân and Drenthe were tied for the largest annual increase, at 5.7% each. Overijssel rose 4.5%, while Groningen and Gelderland each gained 4.4%.

Noord-Holland, which includes Amsterdam, recorded the smallest provincial increase at 1.8%. CBS said it was the sixth consecutive quarter in which the province had the lowest annual growth rate. Utrecht province rose 2.2% and Zuid-Holland 3.8%. Such differences concern how quickly prices changed, not necessarily which province has the most expensive homes.

The four largest municipalities illustrate the variation within the west. Prices rose 4.4% in The Hague, compared with 2.9% in Rotterdam and 2.0% in Utrecht. Amsterdam registered a gain of just 1.0%. The Hague’s figure was higher than the national average even though western municipalities, taken together, generally lagged the north and east.

A municipal ranking is more informative than a single Dutch average, but its individual figures also require care. CBS and Kadaster developed municipal price-index estimates covering about 320 municipalities outside the four largest cities, with a separate methodology used for those four cities. The municipal work provides confidence intervals around estimates, acknowledging that local price measurements are less exact than a headline percentage can suggest.

National inflation in house prices slows despite quarterly gains

The 3.4% annual increase marks a considerable slowdown from the 7.8% recorded in the third quarter of 2025. Annual growth has eased in each quarter of 2026, but that does not mean Dutch home prices are falling overall. The national index still rose 1.0% from the second quarter to the third, and the third quarter was the eleventh consecutive quarter with a positive year-over-year change.

The longer price history helps explain why slower growth has not necessarily restored affordability. Existing-home prices reached a high point around the middle of 2022, fell into 2023 and subsequently resumed climbing. CBS says the rebound has taken prices to new highs in many municipalities. An annual increase of 3.4% adds to that higher price level, even though the pace is well below the double-digit growth seen in earlier years.

Sales activity was softer as well. Nearly 62,000 existing-home purchases were registered in the third quarter, a 1.7% decline from the same period a year earlier. Among housing types, detached homes had the largest drop in sales, at 4.7%. Price growth was strongest for semi-detached houses, at 4.5%, while apartments recorded the smallest increase at 2.8%.

The most recent monthly reading also showed cooling. September prices were 2.9% higher than a year earlier, after a 3.3% annual increase in August, and were down 0.4% from the previous month. The September release put the average purchase price of an existing home at €504,658, but CBS cautions that this sales average is not the same as its price index: the index accounts for differences in the quality of homes sold, whereas the average purchase price does not.