House prices rose by an average 7.7% in May, although fewer properties changed hands year on year, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS and the land registry department.

House prices have been rising steadily since June 2013 and have now reached their highest ever level, the CBS said. Prices are now up an average of 48% compared with the low of seven years ago in the wake of the financial crisis.

Land registry figures show some 18,300 homes changed hands in May, down 7% on May 2019. But overall, the number of sales rose 5% in the five months to end May this year.

Figures from the Dutch real estate agents association NVM last week reinforce the view that the coronavirus crisis has yet to have an impact on the housing market.

In the first month of the crisis, 12% of the homes being sold cost more than €500,000, but that percentage has now risen to 17%, the NVM said.

‘This data relates to the current situation… but on the basis of these facts, we would definitely distance ourselves from negative forecasts,’ chairman Onno Hoes said. ‘When buying or selling a home, people think long-term.’