Looking up a house's sale price: what did a property sell for?

Why the sale price matters more than the asking price

An asking price (vraagprijs) is a strategic choice by the seller and the makelaar (estate agent). Sometimes it is deliberately set low to attract plenty of viewers and offers, sometimes high to leave room for negotiation. The sale price is what a buyer ultimately paid, so it tells you far more about the value of comparable homes.

To make a sound offer, you want to know what similar homes in the same neighbourhood have sold for over the past year, and how many of them sold above or below the asking price. See also how much to offer on a house.

Requesting the sale price from the Kadaster

With every transfer, the Kadaster records the purchase price stated in the deed of transfer (akte van levering). As a private individual you can request it in a few ways, for a small fee per product:

• Eigendomsinformatie (ownership information): for a single address or plot. Besides the last known purchase price, you can see who the owner is, the plot size and any restrictions.
• Koopsominformatie (purchase price information): an overview of sale prices of homes within one postcode (for example 1234AB) bought by private individuals since 2003. Useful for comparing a street.
• A single purchase price by text message: the Kadaster also offers an SMS service to request the purchase price of one address.

The Kadaster updates its data monthly. A sale only appears after the transfer at the notary, so usually several months after the house was marked 'sold'. Current products and prices are listed on kadaster.nl.

Why a purchase price can be misleading

A purchase price is a fact, but not always a good measure of market value. Watch out for these pitfalls:

• Movable items: sometimes part of the purchase price was paid for items left behind, such as a kitchen or floor coverings.
• Sales within the family: a house sold to a child or relative often goes below market value.
• Renovation after purchase: a house bought cheaply three years ago and then fully renovated is now worth much more.
• Time: in a rising market, a sale from eighteen months ago is already out of date.
• Differences between homes: end-of-terrace or mid-terrace, a south-facing garden or not, energy label A or G. Compare like with like as far as possible.

Using comparable sales wisely

1. Find three to five homes similar to the one you want to buy: same type, roughly the same living area and the same year of construction, in the same neighbourhood.
2. Convert the sale price into a price per square metre of living area. This lets you compare homes of different sizes.
3. Adjust for differences: a poorer energy label, overdue maintenance or a smaller garden lowers the value.
4. Look at the date: sales from the last six to twelve months are the most telling.
5. Compare the result with the asking price and the WOZ value (the municipal property valuation). If they differ widely, ask why.

Sale prices in the property report

The full WoningData property report includes a chapter on sales in the area. If the home is currently listed on Funda, you see its status, the asking price, how long it has been on the market and the estate agent, with a link to the listing. Below that are the home's own previous sale prices as registered with the Kadaster. Then come recently sold, comparable homes in the area, with price range, date, living area and distance from the address you are looking at. This gives you an initial reference without searching postcodes yourself. We never show names of owners, buyers or sellers.

Sale prices help you justify an offer, but they do not replace a valuation. For your mortgage you will almost always need a valuation report (taxatierapport) from a registered valuer.