‘Madness’ Easing in Amsterdam’s Skyrocketing Home Prices

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Home prices in Amsterdam grew at a weaker pace for the second consecutive quarter, marking a cool-down in a market that has seen costs surge to unprecedented levels as the city attracted more expats.

Price growth in the capital city decelerated to 6.6 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, with the median transaction price reaching 434,000 euros ($490,000), according to the Association of Real Estate Agents NVM. Around the country, prices rose 8.1 percent from a year earlier to about 294,000 euros.

A moderation in price gains around the country indicates that the “madness” in the housing market has eased, despite a continued shortage in homes, Ger Jaarsma, chairman of NVM, said in a statement. “The amount of sales is stabilizing and we are reaching the new normal.”

For many buyers, the ceiling on what they can and want to pay has been reached, he said.

Dutch cities have been among the hottest real estate-markets in the world. Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht ranked third, seventh and ninth respectively for annual price gains in Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index for the fourth quarter.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ellen Proper in Amsterdam at eproper@bloomberg.net;Fercan Yalinkilic in Istanbul at fyalinkilic@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Chitra Somayaji

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