In 2015 I started my first ‘real’ job in Utrecht. Before that I worked as an intern. Homes had been in the estate agents' windows for a long time. Lots of viewings, few sales. It was a real buyer's market. Buyers could still line up a whole series of homes to view and then calmly choose and negotiate. The housing market was pretty much locked up.
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The crisis is over
The average home price in Q1 of that year was €220,000; at the end of that year the average transaction price was €234,000. The housing market was on the rise and by the end of the year we were almost sold out. The biggest price rise was in Q4 of 2016 and Q2 2017. The transaction price was then almost 20% higher than the year before. Q2 2016 was at the same level as before the crisis. After that, prices shot up like an arrow and went well beyond pre-crisis prices. The average home price in Q1 2019 is €358,000. That is €138,000 more than when I started in 2015.
Price rises in the housing market
In Q1 2019 the transaction price is no less than 12% higher than in Q1 2018. Overvecht even saw a rise of 17% compared with the year before. Utrecht Oost takes the crown with 33.9%. Kanaleneiland & Transwijk have a price rise of 20.4%. Strikingly, the centre has a price rise of only 3.6%.
Prediction
In 1995 the price rise was 25%, and the following year it dropped to 5.4%. After that the housing market remained fairly stable for quite a long time. Five years or so. After those five years, prices shot up again. In 2008 there was a peak, but this was also the turning point. The crisis began. From 2009 to 2013 you see falls year on year, with the low point in 2012. In 2014 the market very slowly began to recover a little. In 2017 there was enormous growth again. In 2018 and 2019 there are still big price rises to be seen. But in 2019 they are decreasing a tiny bit. Will the market stabilise? In the news there are various reports that the madness is starting to ease in the big cities. If you're in the middle of a bidding process, you don't believe a word of it. So will stabilisation happen now? I expect the madness to continue until around October. After that I expect the market to stabilise. However, it's always a matter of reading the tea leaves.
A good time to sell?
Would you like to know whether it's a good time to sell? I'm happy to discuss the options with you honestly. What is the best strategy for selling your house, and how do you get the most out of it? Get in touch with us.
