Rabobank economists have revised upwards their forecast for house price rises in the Netherlands this year.

The bank said earlier house prices would go up by an average 8% but say now the increase is likely to be 8.7% over 2018 as a whole. This is partly because buyers are offering more than the asking price for property.

At the same time, the number of sales is going down. The high prices are damaging confidence in the economy and the lack of choice is also having an impact, economist Christian Lennartz said.

‘The lack of houses is one of the most important factors behind the problems in the housing market,’ he said, adding that the fewer permits for new homes have been issued in the past few months.

Last year, 242,000 homes changed hands but the total is likely to be no higher than 225,000 this year, the bank said.