How Much to Offer Over Asking in the Netherlands? 2026

According to the Dutch estate agents' association NVM, 66 percent of existing homes sold above asking in the third quarter of 2026, at an average of 3.3 percent over. On an asking price of 450,000 euro, that is roughly 14,850 euro. But the national average tells you little about the home you want: in the second quarter, buyers in the Utrecht region paid 8.1 percent over asking, while in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen fewer than one in three homes sold above asking. Here are the current numbers, and how to decide what you should bid.

How much over asking are buyers paying right now?

The NVM published its figures for July to September on 8 October 2026. An existing home sold for 503,000 euro on average, 1.8 percent more than a year earlier, and took 31 days to sell, up from 29 days a year earlier. NVM agents sold around 41,700 homes, 8 percent fewer than in the second quarter, and supply rose to 39,000 homes, 24 percent more than a year earlier. The NVM's national market overview lists overbidding as the gap between asking and sale price: buyers paid 3.3 percent more than the asking price on average, down from 4.6 percent in the second quarter. On average each home had 6.8 viewings and received 2.6 bids.

Bidding over asking, Q3 2026 (NVM)

66%

Sold above asking

3.3%

Average over-bid

€503k

Average sale price

Days on market

In the first quarter the market seemed to cool: two thirds of homes sold above asking, at an average of 3.7 percent over, and homes took 32 days to sell. In the second quarter it picked up again, to 71 percent at 4.6 percent over, the level of late 2025. In the third quarter overbidding eased again, to 66 percent at 3.3 percent over. According to the NVM, buyers still overbid on nearly two thirds of sales, but on some homes there is room to negotiate again.

What is changing is the room to breathe. The NVM tightness indicator (supply divided by the number of monthly sales) rose to 2.8, from 2.3 a year earlier. Anything below 5 counts as a tight market, but buyers have more choice than a year ago. With supply up sharply, partly because investors are selling off rental homes, you are more likely to be able to view several homes before you have to decide.

What has changed since the summer?

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Land Registry (Kadaster), prices of existing homes in August 2026 were 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier, and 0.1 percent lower than in July. Price growth is flattening. At the same time mortgage rates are rising: in September many lenders raised their rates after an interest rate increase by the European Central Bank. Higher rates mean you can borrow less, which leaves less room to bid far above asking.

Where do buyers overbid the most?

The national average hides big regional differences. According to the NVM, more than 80 percent of homes sold above asking in the Utrecht, Oost-Zuid-Holland, Overig Groningen and Flevoland regions in the second quarter of 2026. In Zeeuws-Vlaanderen it happened in fewer than one in three sales. The Netherlands is not one market.

Region (Q2 2026)	Above asking	Average over-bid
Overig Groningen (around Groningen city)	84%	9.7%
Utrecht region	80%	8.1%
Amsterdam (municipality)	78%	7.1%
Netherlands	71%	4.6%
Eindhoven region (Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant)	60%	1.7%
Zeeuws-Vlaanderen	29%	1.0% below

Sources per row: Netherlands and Utrecht region from the NVM market overviews for Q2 2026; Amsterdam from the Amsterdam estate agents' association MVA (via PropertyNL); Overig Groningen from NVM regional figures (via Namaco and Percelio); Eindhoven region and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen from NVM regional figures as compiled by Percelio. Overig Groningen, Eindhoven region and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen are COROP regions, not municipalities.

Amsterdam shows why one percentage is not enough. According to the Amsterdam estate agents' association MVA, 78 percent of homes in the city sold above asking in the second quarter, at an average of 7.1 percent over, with an average sale price of 588,000 euro. Yet average asking prices in the city were 3.9 percent lower than a year earlier because of the many former rental homes coming onto the market, and in the third quarter sale prices in Amsterdam rose just 0.6 percent year on year, the smallest increase of the four big cities (NVM). A lower asking price does not guarantee a lower purchase price.

For internationals moving between cities this matters: a strategy that works in Eindhoven can lose you the home in Utrecht. Figures per city are on our city pages (in Dutch).

Which property types attract the highest bids?

The type of home often matters more than the region. NVM figures for the third quarter of 2026:

Terraced houses (tussenwoning) sold above asking 74 percent of the time, at an average of 4.3 percent over. This is also the tightest market.
Apartments sold above asking 70 percent of the time, at an average of 4.5 percent over.
End-of-terrace houses (hoekwoning): 68 percent above asking, 3.1 percent over on average.
Semi-detached houses (twee-onder-een-kap): 63 percent above asking, 2.3 percent over on average.
Detached houses (vrijstaand): 44 percent above asking, and 0.1 percent below asking on average. In most sales the buyer pays no more than the asking price.

Price range matters too. In the second quarter, more than three quarters of homes between 350,000 and 500,000 euro sold above asking, according to the NVM. Below 250,000 euro, overbidding is less common than average.

Why is the Dutch asking price rarely the market value?

This is the single most important thing to understand about the Dutch market. In many countries the asking price is a reasonable estimate of what the seller expects. In the Netherlands it is often a positioning tool: a price set low on purpose to attract viewings and start a bidding war.

"Almost two in three homes came onto the market in Q2 2026 with an asking price below their estimated value."

That figure comes from Huispedia's trend report for the second quarter of 2026: 64.9 percent of homes were listed below their estimated value, down from 70.9 percent a quarter earlier. In Flevoland it was 77.3 percent, in Friesland 49.5 percent. The logic is simple: twenty viewers at a sharp asking price beat five at a realistic one. At the same time, 13.5 percent of listed homes were later relisted at a lower asking price.

So a home that sells 16 percent over asking can still have sold below market value if the asking price was set 20 percent low. And a home bought at asking can be overpriced if the asking price was set too high. The percentage over asking, on its own, tells you very little about whether you are paying too much.

How do you find the real market value?

The market value is what comparable homes have actually sold for in the past six to twelve months, adjusted for size, energy label, condition and location. That includes sales that never appeared publicly on Funda. Funda shows asking prices, not sale prices, and the Kadaster only registers a sale price once the transfer has gone through at the notary, often months after the sale.

For internationals this gap is costly. Without access to transaction data, you are bidding against locals and investors who do have it. Want a quick first opinion on whether an asking price is low, fair or high? That is what the Biedcheck is for: within 3 hours on workdays, for €49.

How does closed bidding (inschrijving) work?

Many homes in competitive markets are sold through inschrijving, a sealed bidding process that works differently from what you may know from the UK or the US.

How it works

The selling agent sets and announces a deadline.
Every interested buyer submits one bid before that deadline, including their conditions (financing contingency, building inspection, completion date).
The seller, advised by the selling agent, compares all bids.
The seller picks one bid, and does not have to take the highest. A slightly lower bid with fewer conditions can win.
The other bidders hear that their bid was not accepted. There is usually no second round.

You get one chance. No counter-offer, no chance to bid again. Your first bid has to be your best bid.

What other bidding methods are there?

Since 1 February 2026, NVM agents must follow the NVM's Transparent Bidding Protocol. It sets out four methods: open bidding with a deadline, sealed bidding with a deadline, an auction-style process with a deadline, and one-on-one negotiation. The seller has to announce the method in advance, and every bid goes into a digital bid log that bidders can view afterwards.

How do you bid wisely? Six rules

If you remember nothing else from this guide, remember these six points. They apply in every region, for every property type and every bidding method.

Start from market value, not from the asking price. Know what the home is actually worth before you decide what to offer.
Set your maximum before the viewing. Emotion is the most expensive force in buying a home. A number you wrote down before you walked through the front door is your best defence.
Choose your conditions on purpose. Financing contingency, building inspection, NHG approval: each one makes your bid less attractive but lowers your risk. The right balance depends on your situation, not on what other bidders do.
Work out how much of your own money you need. You can borrow up to 100 percent of the appraised market value, or 106 percent if the extra goes into energy-saving measures. If you bid 30,000 euro above the appraisal, you pay that 30,000 euro yourself, on top of buying costs such as the 2 percent transfer tax on a home you will live in. In 2026, buyers aged 18 to 35 can be exempt from transfer tax once, on a home up to 555,000 euro.
In closed bidding, your first bid is your best bid. Do not hold back hoping for a second round.
Get advice that is yours alone. The selling agent works for the seller. Advice is only independent if the person giving it earns nothing from the sale.

How much does the energy label change your bid?

A lot. According to Brainbay, the NVM's data company, a home with energy label A was worth around 17 percent more than a comparable home with label G at the start of 2026. For an average Dutch home of 113 square metres, that is more than 74,000 euro. In August 2026 Brainbay found that this premium has stayed roughly the same since the war in Iran began, and that a single step up the label scale often adds 2 to 3 percent in value.

The label also affects how fast a home sells. According to the NVM, homes with label E, F or G stay on the market about a week longer than homes with a green label. In the second quarter of 2026 as many of them were listed as a year earlier, but sales were more than 10 percent lower. For you as a buyer that can be an opportunity: a poorly labelled home with little competition can be a smart buy if you plan to make it more sustainable yourself.

In short

In Q3 2026, 66 percent of Dutch homes sold above asking, at an average of 3.3 percent over, with big differences by region and property type. What matters more than that percentage is whether the asking price was realistic. A well-founded bid starts from the actual market value, not from the number on Funda.

Where does Aestimo fit in?

We are not an estate agent and we are not a mortgage broker. We give you an independent view of the market value and a bidding strategy that is yours alone.

Start with the Biedcheck (€49) if you want a quick first opinion. For full support in English there is our International package (€695). If you read Dutch, the same analysis is also available as Dutch-language packages: Waarde & Inzicht (€245), Strategisch Bod (€395) and Zeker Bieden (€595). New to the Dutch process altogether? Read our guide to buying a house in the Netherlands as an international, or view a sample report.

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Frequently asked questions

How much over asking should I offer in the Netherlands in 2026?

According to the NVM, 66 percent of existing homes sold above asking in the third quarter of 2026, at an average of 3.3 percent over, down from 4.6 percent in the second quarter. The range is wide: in the second quarter it was more than 9 percent around Groningen city, 7.1 percent in Amsterdam and 8.1 percent in the Utrecht region, while in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen homes sold below asking on average.

What is the difference between asking price and market value in the Netherlands?

The asking price is a strategic choice by the seller, not an objective value. According to Huispedia, 64.9 percent of homes in the second quarter of 2026 were listed below their estimated value. The market value is what comparable homes have actually sold for in the past six to twelve months.

Is bidding over asking still normal in 2026?

Yes. According to the NVM, nearly two thirds of homes still sold above asking in the third quarter of 2026 (66 percent), down from 71 percent in the second quarter. Supply is almost a quarter higher than a year ago, so buyers have more choice and sometimes room to negotiate, but bidding over asking remains the norm in most regions.

What does 'overasking' mean in the Netherlands?

Overasking, or overbieden in Dutch, means offering more than the asking price. It is common in the Netherlands because asking prices are often set below market value: in the third quarter of 2026, 66 percent of existing homes sold above asking, at an average of 3.3 percent over (NVM).

How does closed bidding (inschrijving) work in the Netherlands?

All interested buyers submit one sealed bid, including their conditions, before a deadline. The seller chooses, and does not have to take the highest bid. There is usually no second round, so your first bid has to be your best.

Should I waive the financing contingency to win a bidding war?

Only if you are certain you can finance the purchase. If your mortgage falls through after you have waived the contingency, you usually owe the seller a penalty of 10 percent of the purchase price: 45,000 euro on a 450,000 euro home. A short financing contingency is often a safer way to keep your bid competitive.

Sources

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