Amsterdam is associated with many things – canals lined with gracious townhouses, locals of all ages riding bicycles, great art, and an easy-going (or strikingly lax, depending on your point of view) attitude to recreational drug use – but a pronounced housing slump hardly springs to mind.
But this is what is happening: according to Statistics Netherlands the value of residential properties in the city fell by an average of 7.4 per cent in the 12 months up to the end of September.
With many commentators predicting that home prices will drop further, domestic buyers are increasingly reluctant to take the plunge. More stringent lending criteria and uncertainty over the future of the country’s generous tax breaks to homeowners repaying mortgages have also depressed the market.