The housing market in Utrecht: totally overheated. In July I wrote the blog ‘Has the tipping point on the housing market been reached?’. It was all over the news. Prices were even supposed to fall. At the time I wrote that I didn't believe a word of it. So much demand and so little supply. I predicted that prices could only keep on rising.
Contents
- Nitrogen crisis
- Price rises
- Brexit
- Falling mortgage rates
- Continuing price rises
- Selling your house? Request an introductory meeting!
Nitrogen crisis
And then, not long after, the nitrogen crisis was in the news. New-build construction came to a standstill. This put even more pressure on the market.
Nitrogen itself isn't really the problem. Nitrogen is naturally present in our air. The real problem lies in combustion at high temperatures, with emissions from agriculture, industry and traffic, for example. As a result, many plants can't grow as well, animals disappear and we suffer more from respiratory problems because of the particulate matter in the air.
Because of the nitrogen crisis, fewer new-build homes are being built. Demand, however, isn't decreasing. So supply is lagging even further behind demand. We've noticed this very clearly on the Utrecht housing market since August.
Price rises
The housing market in Utrecht. Total chaos. At the moment there are still more than 31,500 house hunters in Utrecht. There are only 1,095 homes available. There are only 270 existing homes available. The largest number of house hunters are looking for a home in the price range up to €325,000, according to data from Funda. In July I wrote that there were 31,000 house hunters and that 1,350 homes were available at the time. So right now there are slightly more house hunters and even fewer homes. The pressure has therefore increased even further. The price has risen again too. The scarcity figure is now 1.4. Supply is becoming more limited, and as a result prices are rising even faster. In the last quarter of 2019, 6% more homes were sold than in Q4 2018. This results in the highest market pressure of the past 2 years. In a year, the price has risen by 7% on average. In some neighbourhoods, these price rises are much higher still. Look at the Tweede Daalsebuurt. Prices here have been rising enormously lately.
Brexit
The Utrecht housing market and Brexit. We also wrote a blog about Brexit. At the moment we're not noticing much of it here yet. But in a year's time that could easily be different. It will be noticeable first in the higher price range. But ultimately this also affects homes in the lower price range.
Falling mortgage rates
Interest rates keep falling… 10-year fixed with NHG (National Mortgage Guarantee) is currently 1%. If you want to borrow 100% above the NHG limit, your rate is currently 1.55%. Rates keep falling, and there's now even a negative interest rate on savings above €1,000,000. We wrote a blog about the fact that a low interest rate doesn't automatically mean you can borrow more. But it does mean more people hold on to their homes and more people invest in property. Even once the new regulations on paying more tax on property investments are in place.
Continuing price rises
Last time I wrote that I thought prices might stabilise somewhat. Normally the winter sports season is the season in which you can buy well. After the last winter sports holidays, sales pick up again. But right now it's a madhouse. Prices keep rising…. I don't expect this to ease off for the time being.
Want to sell your house well? I'd be happy to tell you how we can best do that for you. Want to buy and get good advice? You can always call.
