Half Amsterdam homes are sold for more than the asking price

House buyers in Amsterdam are adding thousands of euros to the asking price in an effort to snap up the increasingly scarce selection of affordable homes, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday.

Flats put on the market at €200,000 are going for €220,000 or even more , Sven Heinen, of the city’s real estate brokers’ association said. The average premium paid by buyers is over 6% of the asking price.

In the first quarter of 2016, 48% of flats and houses in the city changed hands for more than the asking price, up from 42% at the end of last year. The frenzy is most acute in West, where over 60% of buyers are bidding above the listed price.

The shortage of homes for sale is one of main drivers of the bidding war. In the first three months of this year just 2,100 homes changed hands, compared with almost 3,000 in the final quarter of 2016.

Website Funda.nl currently lists just under 4,000 homes for sale in Amsterdam.

The cheapest properties on offer are tiny flats and studios in Zuid-oost for around €85,000. The most expensive is a nine room detached home for almost €5m.