The average home sales price in the Netherlands during the first quarter of the year was 8.2 percent lower compared to the same period in 2022. The average sales price fell from over 429,000 euros down to about 394,000 euros, according to figures from the real estate agents association NVM.

“This confirms the tipping point in the market compared to 2021 when the price increased by about 20% year-on-year,” the NVM said. It noted that the average sales price was also about 3.6 percent lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

At the end of March, 31,149 homes were listed for sale, 89 percent more than the 16,500 in the first quarter of 2022. The increased supply is one of the factors behind the fall in home prices. Homebuyers have more the choose from and less often have to bid above the asking price.

In the first quarter of 2023, about a third of homes were bought above the asking price, compared to 81 percent a year ago. For the first time in multiple quarters, the transaction price came out below the asking price, though the difference was minimal at 1.3 percent.

Realtors sold 28,379 homes last quarter, a decrease of 2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022. Homes were on the market for an average of 42 days before getting sold.

Despite the lower prices and higher supply, it remains difficult for many people to find a home, the NVM said. Homes are still very expensive, and the mortgage interest rates are significantly higher than a year ago, so people can borrow less.

In addition, few newly constructed homes are coming onto the market. Many construction projects can only start when the majority of homes have a buyer, and that is simply not happening amid the high interest rates and construction costs. Only 5,400 new homes hit the market last quarter, 11 percent less than a year earlier and 38 percent less than the previous quarter.

Last quarter, 4,200 new houses and building plots were sold, 37 percent less than a year ago. Buyers paid an average of 468,000 euros for a new home, a decrease of 2.9 percent.