The number of homes changing hands in the second quarter of this year was 2% below the 2009 figure, according to new figures from the real estate agents’ association NVM.

The NVM describes 2009 as a ‘disaster’ year.
In total, 33,300 homes were sold, up 6.5% on the first three months of the year. The average price paid was €235,000, up 1.5% on a year ago.
Mortgages
The NVM blames the decline on uncertaintly about the future of mortgage tax relief, which allows home owners in the Netherlands to deduct all the interest they pay on a home loan from tax.
Three of the four parties negotiating a new coalition agreement want to reduce the tax break, which is the most generous in Europe.
‘The early fall of the cabinet led to this discussion errupting and that can be seen in the figures,’ NVM head Ger Hukker said in a statement.
The NVM now expects 125,000 homes to be sold this year, the same as in 2009.
Rents

The organisation hopes new rules which will force housing corporations to allocate 90% of their rent-controlled properties to households earning less than €33,000 a year from October will boost housing sales.
This is because people earning more than this will have to choose between paying more than €600 a month in rent or buying a home.