The Dutch housing market is changing. After years of extreme shortage, lightning-fast sales and heavy overbidding, the picture in 2026 is more nuanced. The figures from the NVM (Dutch association of estate agents) for the first quarter of 2026 show a market that is looking for a new balance — but is certainly not relaxed yet. In this article we go through the most important trends: how quickly are homes selling, what is happening to viewing requests, is the market cooling down and what is happening to prices?
1. Time to sell: slightly longer, but still quick
One of the most striking shifts in 2026 is that homes stay on the market a little longer on average. A year ago the average time to sell was 30 days; it has now risen to 32 days — an increase that looks small, but is a clear signal of a market that is easing slightly.
Even so, 82% of homes are still sold within one quarter, which is fast by historical standards. But there are big differences between types of home:
Popular and quick to sell: Move-in ready, energy-efficient homes in sought-after locations still sell extremely quickly. Terraced houses and apartments in popular neighbourhoods are still regularly sold above the asking price.
Harder and slower: Homes with a poor energielabel (energy label), a higher asking price or a less popular location stay on the market considerably longer. The total supply has been for sale for 54 days on average — a figure that shows it is the less marketable homes that make the real difference.
What this means for sellers: For many homes, the days when a property was under offer within a week are over. A realistic asking price and a strong presentation are more important than ever. Setting the price too high leads to a longer time on the market and can, in the end, even result in a lower sale price.
2. Viewing requests: fewer, but calmer and more targeted
One of the most noticeable changes for estate agents and sellers is the falling number of viewings per home. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average number of actual viewings per home had already dropped from 10.4 to 7.5 compared with a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2026 this trend continues.
That may sound like bad news, but it does not have to be. The lower number of viewings has a logical explanation: total supply has risen by more than 20% compared with a year ago. The same buyer interest is now simply spread over more homes. Buyers have more choice and are under less pressure to hurry.
The number of bids per home has also fallen — from an average of 3.7 to 2.8 in the second half of 2025. This means fewer bidding wars and more room for a well-considered purchase decision. Buyers no longer need to bid straight after the first viewing day: there is more time to weigh things up, arrange building surveys and negotiate.
A note of nuance: This does not apply to every home. For a well-priced, energy-efficient terraced house in a popular neighbourhood, interest remains high. The drop in viewings is most noticeable in the higher price segment and for homes with a less favourable energy label.
3. Is the market cooling down? Yes, but it is not in free fall
The housing market is clearly cooling — but there is no real turning point or market crash. The NVM describes a market that is "gradually becoming more balanced". That balance shows itself in several ways:
More supply: The number of homes for sale rose in Q1 2026 to almost 30,000, more than 20% higher than a year earlier. This increase is not so much because large numbers of new homes are coming onto the market, but simply because homes are selling less quickly.
Less overbidding: In the first quarter of 2026, buyers paid on average 3.7% above the asking price. That is still significant, but clearly less than the record levels of previous years. Two thirds of homes are still sold above the asking price — still a lot, but the lowest level in two years. Detached houses are, on average, even sold slightly below the asking price.
Easing shortage: The NVM shortage indicator rose to 2.6, which points to slightly more choice for buyers. A market counts as tight with a score below 3 — so it is still tight, but less extreme than before.
External factors: The cooling is partly reinforced by outside circumstances. Mortgage interest rates rose slightly at the end of 2025, consumer confidence has fallen, and international uncertainties — including the situation in the Middle East — are making buyers more cautious and more likely to postpone purchases. In early 2026, snow and ice also caused viewings and photo shoots to be postponed, which pushed the Q1 transaction figures down further.
4. House prices: a fall over the quarter, but still up year on year
The average sale price of an existing home fell in the first quarter of 2026 to €485,000 — a drop of 2.7% compared with the previous quarter. This means the average price has fallen below half a million euros for the first time in quite a while.
But nuance is crucial here:
Seasonal effect and the mix of sales: A price fall in the first quarter is not unusual. The five-year average for this period is a fall of around 1.2%. The current fall of 2.7% is therefore considerably larger than usual — but this is partly due to the mix of homes sold. In Q1 2026 a notably large number of so-called uitpondwoningen were sold: former rental homes being sold off by investors. These homes are on average smaller, less luxurious, more often have a lower energy label and cost on average around €393,000 — more than €100,000 less than regular homes. This pulls the average down, without meaning that all homes have become cheaper.
Still positive year on year: Compared with a year earlier, sale prices are still around €10,000 higher. CBS (Statistics Netherlands) recorded a year-on-year price increase of around 5% for March 2026. The rise is clearly slowing, but there is no real price fall yet.
Shrinkflation in new-build homes: A striking phenomenon is taking place in the new-build market: developers are building ever more compact homes to keep the total purchase price manageable. As a result, the price per square metre rose by around 6% year on year to an average of €5,250 per m². Buyers are not paying more, but they get less living space for their money.
5. New-build market: growing supply, falling sales
The new-build market shows a different picture from existing homes. In Q1 2026 only 5,563 new-build homes were sold — 16% fewer than a year earlier. At the same time, supply grew to 18,152 homes, the highest level since 2016.
The problem is no longer on the supply side, but on the demand side. Buyers are increasingly dropping out because of:
Long lead times between purchase and completion (on average 8 to 12 years from planning phase to completion)
High bridging costs when having to carry two sets of housing costs
Uncertainty about the energy connection due to grid congestion
Fewer m² for the same money due to shrinkflation
6. Regional differences: not the same story everywhere
The cooling is not felt equally strongly everywhere. In about half of the Dutch regions, sales figures are lower than a year ago, particularly in the west and north of the Netherlands. In South Limburg and parts of Drenthe and Overijssel, on the other hand, more homes were sold.
In the four big cities — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague — sales numbers remained relatively stable. Almost everywhere in the Netherlands, average sale prices are still higher than a year ago, although the increases are getting smaller.
Conclusion: a market in transition — not a crash, but an adjustment
The Dutch housing market in early 2026 is clearly changing. The extreme shortage and hectic pace of recent years are easing. Homes stay on the market a little longer, there are fewer viewings and bids per home, price growth is levelling off, and buyers have more room to negotiate than they have had in a long time.
But the market is not collapsing. The fundamentals remain unchanged: there are structurally too few homes, demand remains high, and energy-efficient, move-in ready homes in sought-after locations continue to sell quickly. In 2026 the market simply calls for a different approach — from sellers and buyers alike.
For sellers this means: make sure you have a realistic asking price, an excellent presentation and a home that scores well on its energy label. The era of automatically selling above the asking price is over for less marketable homes.
For buyers 2026 offers more room than recent years: more choice, more time and more room to negotiate. In many cases the "now or never" mindset is no longer necessary.
