The 2026 house prices in the Netherlands are strongly influenced by one persistent problem: the ongoing housing shortage in the housing market. This shortage is causing pressure on both the buying and rental markets. The result: many people are looking longer, experience more competition and are more likely to face higher housing costs. If you follow developments in the housing market, you will see that this shortage has been an important driver behind the tightness for years.
The housing shortage is not a temporary dip that will disappear by itself. It is the result of a combination of factors: growth in the number of households, limited construction capacity, procedures that take time and demand that is structurally higher than supply in many regions. Even if more new buildings are added, it often takes years before that is really felt in the market.
What does this mean for individuals in 2026? Simply put: scarcity remains. And where there is scarcity, there remains price pressure; especially in popular areas and in segments where the supply is the smallest, such as affordable family homes and starter homes. That is exactly why house prices are not expected to fall in 2026, but rather rise even further.
A remarkable trend that you see more and more is expanding: selling rental properties by private landlords instead of letting them out again. This often happens when a lease has ended. Pounding out is more common because rental conditions have changed adversely in recent years. This includes additional tax burdens and regulations, which have made renting less attractive for private owners. Expanding has positive and negative consequences.
For the rental market, pounding is in many cases a negative development. Fewer rental properties mean for tenants: less choice, higher pressure on waiting times and registrations and often even higher rents in the private segment due to scarcity. Especially in large cities and popular regions, this can make the situation more difficult for tenants, precisely because the affordable range of rental properties is already very limited.
At the same time, pounding also means that more homes are for sale. This is relevant in 2026, because this is one of the few, faster ways in which the supply on the buying market can grow without having to wait for new construction projects. This can offer buyers opportunities: additional offerings will be available in segments that normally show little movement.
Nevertheless, it is important to stay realistic. Extra supply through pounding does help, but it does not solve the structural housing shortage. As long as that basic pressure persists, there will also be pressure on house prices in 2026, so within the broader developments in the housing market, pounding is a double signal: favourable for buying and unfavourable for rental offers.
Then the key question: what will house prices do in 2026? The increase is expected to continue, but less rapidly than in the years before. The increase is mainly due to a combination of factors: the tightness remains, but the market is also getting more used to higher financing costs.
The forecasts of ABN AMRO and Rabobank are fairly similar here: both parties expect house prices to continue rising in 2026, but at a more moderate pace than before. The ABN AMRO expects house prices to rise by around 3%; Rabobank expects this to grow by 4.8% in 2026. In other words: no abrupt price falls, but rather a continuation of growth, just a bit quieter.
The most important explanations that often appear in the analyses are:
• The housing shortage is keeping the pressure on and will directly affect house prices in 2026
• Incomes and wages continue to grow, allowing many buyers to borrow and bid more.
• Although pounding provides extra supply, this is insufficient to eliminate the shortage.
• As a result of the expansion, rental properties in the free sector are disappearing, causing more people to buy.
A combination of these factors is expected to keep rising house prices by 2026.
Whether you're a starter, a transient or just thinking about selling: 2026 seems to be a year where timing and preparation make the difference.
Buyers: more supply through pounding can provide opportunities, but you are still competing in a tight market with rising house prices in 2026. Good preparation, both financially and in terms of wishes, is therefore even more important.
Sellers: A market with continued demand and rising prices remains favorable, although the “overbid craze” may decrease by region and segment.
Tenants: Expanding can make it more difficult to find suitable rental properties, especially in the mid-range. As a result, the group of buyers can grow.
The housing market in 2026 therefore remains in full swing: a continuing housing shortage, more pounds and house prices in 2026 that are likely to continue to rise, but less rapidly than before. If you list all developments in the housing market, you will see that scarcity remains the common thread, with pounding out as one of the most important shifts.
Do you want to know what is wise in your case: buying, selling or waiting? Contact Van Loon and schedule an appointment with us. Then, together, we will look at your opportunities and the best route in this market. You are more than welcome to visit our offices in Breda, Rotterdam, Etten-Leur or one of our other eight locations. Prefer online? That is also possible, of course.
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