To begin with, there is too little supply; how big the shortage is depends on a number of criteria, but count on more than 300,000 homes. And that is just too much; then new people enter the country, especially where they buy (such as knowledge workers) they are often already used to high prices abroad.
Purchases by house investors do not exactly have a downward effect either, especially not last year when they were able to avoid the increased transfer tax and thus decided quickly to reduce the supply)
The nitrogen problem is not helping either: building houses is not really good for the environment and all sorts of rules make for sluggishness and sometimes (as in Amsterdam) even a construction freeze.
The low interest rate (which is also tax deductible) also makes a contribution, and the combination with all kinds of tax rules does the rest. The friendly initiative of a lower transfer tax of 2% as of January 2021 for first-time buyers (under 35 years of age and as of April only for houses under four tons) recently gave the final push.
In the end, corona has an impact even here: people have spent less money, making moving (rebuilding/refurbishing etc) more affordable and the economic outlook has turned out to be less dramatic for large groups, making them value their prospects/job security higher.
