A quarter of home buyers are currently offering at least or more than the asking price of property, according to housing research bureau Calcasa.

Ten years ago, when house prices reached their previous peak, just one in 10 buyers paid the asking price or more, Calcasa said on Tuesday.

Although overbidding has become the norm in Amsterdam and Utrecht, where the sector is overheating, buyers in Groningen, Haarlem, Amstelveen, Almere, Zaanstad, Amersfoort and Leiden are also frequently offering higher prices.

In Amsterdam, for example, 80% of homes change hands for at least the asking price. In Amstelveen and in Almere the figure is 62% and in Haarlem 63%.

Estate agent Michiel Koudijs, who operates in the Naarden area where prices have risen 15% this year, that overbidding has never been so prevalent.

‘It is all people who have sold their homes in Amsterdam and are coming here to buy a bigger place,’ he told broadcaster NOS. ‘We recently had 60 people viewing a 1930s terraced home. The asking price was €595,000 but it sold for €650,000.’