In the Netherlands, more than 6,000 new homes were sold in the second quarter of this year, an 84 per cent increase on the same period last year.
The April to June period was the third consecutive quarter in which more new homes saw sales. According to national statistics agency CBS, prices remained virtually unchanged, while existing properties rose in price by about 10 per cent over the same period.
Economists say that although home sales had been falling for the previous six years, higher wages are allowing people to pay more for property and this has also contributed to the sale of more expensive new homes.
The average price of a new home is now €479,000, which is around €38,000 higher than existing properties. On average, Dutch homes were 7.7 per cent more expensive in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, and this is well above the EU average of 2.9 per cent, according to the report.
House prices have more than doubled in nine EU member states since 2010, mainly in Eastern and Central Europe. In the Netherlands, prices have risen by around 70 per cent.
