The number of house sales recorded at the land registry office rose 30% in July, compared with a year ago.

Compared with June, transactions are also up 33%, the land registry office (kadaster) and national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

In total, 9,659 houses changed hands in July, which is a traditionally good month for house sales.

However, there were strong regional variations. The increase was greatest in Gelderland, where sales rose 52%. In Limburg, by contrast, the rise was just 7%.

Plunge

In the year to July, house sales are still lagging 2012 by 17%, Pieter Hein van Mulligen of the CBS told the Financieele Dagblad.

‘The remaining months of the year will not make that up, so 2013 will still be worse than 2012,’ Van Mulligen said.

July’s rise may also be a knock-on effect from the uncertainty in the first half of the year, as people finally took the plunge.