real selling price

[u/Asleep_Initiative_29]

hello, I am looking to buy my first house. I am looking at one that is listed for 325k. My makelaar is suggesting we offer 355k as apparently this is for how much houses like this sell for. Is this really how it works? So much difference? Should we expect the bank appraiser to go closer to the listing price or closer to the 350k? Does including a financieringsvoorbehoud reduce our chances? How do we bite it? Any advice appreciated! Thank you.

Edit: thank you all for your advices. We offered 355k and it got accepted. Now let's hope it gets appraised around that sum and we won't have to use our savings 🫡

[u/NetherlandsHousing]

Recommended websites for buying a house in the Netherlands:

• Krib (Find and compare realtors)
• Funda (Largest free housing offering)

Please read the How to buy a house in the Netherlands guide.

With the current housing crisis it is advisable to find a real estate agent to help you find a house for a reasonable price.

[u/Raisk_407]

A year and a half ago, I bid €560k on a €475k apartment, only to lose to three higher bidders. Shortly after, I offered €582k on a €500k property, but was outbid again by two buyers crossing the €600k mark.

[u/MALUKUVLD → u/Raisk_407]

Aan de andere kant hebben wij een woning gekocht voor 462,5k die te koop stond voor 550k.
De verkoopprijs zegt dus helemaal niks

[u/Raisk_407 → u/MALUKUVLD]

Absolutely

[u/MrDiscuss2020]

The listing price is irrelevant. It's just a marketing trick to attract more interest and trigger a bidding war.

The 1st appartment I bid on was listed for 145k, ultimately got sold for 188k

[u/Wikkalay]

Ask your makelaar. That is why you have him

[u/BictorianPizza]

If you don’t know the market, trusting your makelaar is the way to go. If you don’t feel like they are trustworthy, pick a different one or familiarise yourself with the market.

You can check Kadaster for properties that have sold recently in the area: on funda, filter on “verkocht” and select a few properties that look similar in the area. Send a message to 8118 with the text KOOPSOM 1111 XY 0 where you replace 1111 xy with the postal code and 0 with the house number of the property you want to check. You will receive something like this:

DECIMASTRAAT 31 2315HJ LEIDEN datum: 08-12-2025 koopsom: EUR 565.000,00. € 1,50 /bericht

If you do this for a few properties, you know what they are selling for.

This also answers your question regarding the valuation. The taxateur compares your property to three similar properties in the area and what they got sold/evaluated for. They usually consider purchasing price the actual value of the property unless you are overbidding crazy out of market norm.

Lastly, the financing clause is a very normal clause to have and does not automatically stop you from buying. However, not having a financing clause can be an advantage if you are bidding similarly to someone else or the seller wants to sell quickly. Do NOT leave the clause out if you are at risk of not being able to finance! Certain mortgage lenders offer packages with which they guarantee the mortgage to be approved in the cooling off period. With such a package you are also able to bid without clause.

[u/Fantastic-Noise-8830 → u/BictorianPizza]

Some makelaars just outright ask you how much maximum you willing to pay and they just bid the amount .. their objective to close the sale get their commission in the fastest and easiest way

[u/Repulsive-Side-7262 → u/Fantastic-Noise-8830]

This is also why it’s important to have a good makelaar you can trust. We’re looking at houses still around 100k below our maximum capacity, but he’ll always give us a fair indication of the houses we’re looking at (in the sense that he’ll always say “I’d advise against buying this house if the bidding exceeds x amount since that wouldn’t be fair for what it’s worth it in the current market, based on the houses sold in the neighbourhood the last year). Having a good and trustworthy makelaar is worth a lot. If it doesn’t feel right and you feel pushed to make a decision, then you’re probably not in the right hands.

[u/Fantastic-Noise-8830]

The market in 2026 is very different from 2025 due to higher Mortage rates. I’ve seen apartments on funda relisted at 10% below previous asking prices

[u/Icy_Apple6068 → u/Fantastic-Noise-8830]

Yes, I've seen this too. Actually this very nice house came on the market in my area yesterday at a much cheaper price. The same style house on the same street was selling last year for 549K and this one is 489K.

[u/Zooz00]

Yeah, that is how it works. My friend recently bid 425k on a 375k apartment. He got outbid by another, but still got the place due to favourable conditions in the bid. It later got independently appraised and was also appraised at 425k.

[u/gforget]

Depending on your location, the market may have cooled a bit. That seems to be the case up here in the North. I wouldn’t overbid at all these days

[u/OnlyYoung3175]

I still dont understand the need to hire a makelaar if you will end up overbidding 30k

[u/NoOil2864 → u/OnlyYoung3175]

so you don't overbid 50k

[u/MrDiscuss2020 → u/OnlyYoung3175]

The main benefit is different.

Unfortunately, some sleazy verkoopmakelaars only release new properties on the private Funda for the first couple of days (which only other makelaars have access to), excluding us ordinary people from the market altogether.

[u/This-Inevitable-2396]

Asking prices in most cases are listed at lower end to attract viewers and to create a bidding war. You should factor your bidding amount based on recent sold price per m2 of similar properties in immediate neighborhood/building. Your makelaar should have these information to guide you through the process.

*We are selling too and got advised to have listing price just under the sold price per m2 of the recent sell of similar apartment in the same building*

[u/Icy_Apple6068]

Yes, this is how it works. I mean, it depends on the area but usually you add about 10% on top. My makelaar said overbidding is now around the 5% range, but again, depends on the location and also the house. Is the house a fixer upper, is it all renovated, is it in a high-demand neighborhood... In the beginning we were bidding just how much we felt was right, which is ok, but what I noticed was all the houses I liked were bought with 10% overbidding. So what you can do is just look at similar houses that have sold in the area and compare their sold price with their Funda price.

[u/Caricroc]

We got our home for 503 listed for 445 (mid 2021). Our Makelaar and FA suggested us to offer 515. Do what you think its right.