The
Amsterdam real estate market can be divided in the rental and buying
market. Prices do top the
Dutch average because of the tight market conditions. There’s a lack of free
market properties as almost 55% of the Amsterdam property market is owned by
housing associations (low rental prices but long waiting lists). For many want to live in this city and some
areas are very sought after, it might prove a challenge to find your perfect
home. read more
Buying a property
Buying a property
We’re currently
experiencing a buyers market. Prices have dropped 20% from the 2008 high and are bottoming out at present. There’s still room to negotiate on price and
often enough time to view and compare houses without the stress of being forced
to bid. Normally the buyer is assisted
by a buy side agency and the seller is using his own real estate agency.
Properties are mainly sold at buyers’ cost, which means that all additional costs involved with the sale are for the buyer’s account. The buying deed will be signed at the notary’s office where after a three (working)day cooling down period will start. Then the decomposing conditions mentioned in the buying deed will start, often to protect the buyers’ financial interest. At the date of delivery, again at the notary’s office, all costs involved will be charged to the buying party. Included in the buyer’s costs will be the realty agent, notary, technical survey, mortgage advisor and 2% sales tax. Normally this will be around 6-8% of the purchase price.
Renting a propertyProperties are mainly sold at buyers’ cost, which means that all additional costs involved with the sale are for the buyer’s account. The buying deed will be signed at the notary’s office where after a three (working)day cooling down period will start. Then the decomposing conditions mentioned in the buying deed will start, often to protect the buyers’ financial interest. At the date of delivery, again at the notary’s office, all costs involved will be charged to the buying party. Included in the buyer’s costs will be the realty agent, notary, technical survey, mortgage advisor and 2% sales tax. Normally this will be around 6-8% of the purchase price.
The rental
market can be divided in the social housing sector and private sector. According
to a point system the smaller houses up to around 50m2 (142 points) can be
classified as social housing. The rental price according to the 142 points is
€680 p/m maximum. A need to register at
the housing societies with a waiting list of almost 8 years make these houses
very hard to obtain, if not impossible to rent in the short term.
The private sector The houses with more than 142 points, or over 50m2, are classified free market. The owners can establish the rental price themselves. Normally the gross mortgage will be asked for, rental prices tend to start at € 1.000 p/m for the smaller apartments and € 1.500 p/m for a 2 room apartment on a good location. Because of severe housing law which mainly protects the tenant, a rental contract will always be for a set time period, often 1 ,2 or 3 years. It is very important that the rental contract is drawn up correctly.
When the renter directly finds a property on internet the rental agency is not allowed to charge a commission fee, contract cost should not be more than € 300 excluding VAT. If an agency helps finding a property the commission normally is 1 month’s rent excluding VAT.
Real estate agency 020-Makelaars is a member of the NVM (www.nvm.nl) which guarantees a professional guidance, good legal advice and transparent general conditions. Always check if the realtor involved is certified to prevent disappointments!
