another lousy communication from NVM that everything is OK for the economy and the housing market ! It is lucky other websites have a deeper analysis of those figurs. (ex : http://www.huizenmarkt-zeepbel.nl/08-10-2009/huizenmarkt-blijft-op-historisch-dieptepunt/)

By Francis | October 8, 2009 10:57 AM

Well as i said in the past..when house prices drop there are 2 sides of the coin. The people that sell them, have indeed a problem but those that wanna buy one are benefitted.

By kos | October 8, 2009 2:51 PM

Everyone has to live somewhere. The prices always ultimately go up, whether they are rent or mortgage.

By Bill Phillips | October 8, 2009 11:29 PM

A drop of 5% from last year is a long expected trend on the house market which was overheated. People also were made believe by NVM et.al. that an uptrend is forever and the ‘real-estate ladder’ solves problems of people with even no capital, taking mortgages up to 120% (slogan: start young, buy and sell every 5-10 years and housing comes for 'free'). Now many people are caught in transition: having not sold the old house and already committed for a new one. When does NVM talks about this?
The NVM is a private business oriented organization, which tries to regulate the house market in favour of their sales. Look to the price structure of their fees and the rigidness with which they try to defend their profit on a sale, coming close to a monopoly.
The real decline now materializes in the expectation spread between 9-15% past yearly increase to 5% drop, which gives a spread of 14-20% less then what was expected in most people's calculation. This is the thread.
Besides, a large number of houses are hopelessly overvalued when looking to the additional cost of refurbishments needed, especially in zones such as Amsterdam and Den Haag, cost that people often underestimate.
It is of course a wish by house owners that prices "always ultimately go up" as Bill writes, but just look over the NL borders. Even in good areas of Germany, prices are stagnating since 15 or more years.

By Mike | October 9, 2009 1:15 PM

A house is not a stock certificate. It has a function far beyond simply investing, and though the prices tend to fluctuate widely over the years, there is no doubt that owning a home provides far greater value than renting. The only people who can rent without worry are those who have their very low rent prices subsidized by the rest of society. The rest of us who rent are only enriching the property owners who all know that bubble or bust, they will always make money off their property. The best time to buy a house is when everyone else is too afraid to do so and the worst time to buy one is when everyone else is doing so. Mike makes a good argument for buying a house right now.

By John McCarthy | October 10, 2009 5:37 PM