# New-build homes cost about €40,000 more than similar existing ones

> The estate agents' association NVM says a new-build home in 2026 costs just over €40,000 more than an existing home with the same features in the same place, before double housing costs are counted.

Housing · published 2026-10-21 12:08 · https://nlnow.nl/a/new-build-homes-cost-over-8-more-than-similar-existing-homes/

The median price difference between new-build homes and comparable existing homes in 2026 is just over 8%, after corrections, according to an analysis by Brainbay published by the NVM. In euros, the difference comes to just over €40,000.

A new-build home is therefore clearly more expensive than an existing home with the same features in the same location would be, the NVM says.

Double housing costs during the construction period are not included in the calculation and come on top of the difference, the NVM says. Earlier NVM studies show these can quickly run to tens of thousands of euros.

This so-called “nieuwbouwpremie” (new-build premium) was not always so high: in 2016 new-build prices were still just below those of existing homes, a “nieuwbouwkorting” (new-build discount). The gap has widened since, moving with price swings.

## How the comparison was made

Brainbay used its own valuation model, trained on about 9 million sold existing homes and taking more than a hundred features into account. For each new-build home it estimated what the home would be worth as an existing home, then compared that with the actual asking price. The analysis covers about 240,000 new-build homes listed through an NVM broker since 2016. Only homes with concrete interest, such as those under option or sold, were included, and homes whose asking price changed during sale were excluded.

For new-build, the asking price was raised by 12.5% for finishing, such as a kitchen, bathroom and floors, plus €4,500 in transaction costs. That percentage is an estimate based on a survey of brokers. For existing homes, the calculation used 2% transfer tax and €5,500 in transaction costs.

## Background

- **NVM (Nederlandse Vereniging van Makelaars)**: The Dutch Association of Estate Agents (Nederlandse Vereniging van Makelaars) is the professional organisation for real estate agents (makelaars) in the Netherlands. Its members agree to shared professional standards, and the association represents their interests toward government and the public. It also publishes market analyses and housing data, which are widely cited in Dutch news coverage of the housing market.

From NLnow, news from the Netherlands in English. How stories are made: https://nlnow.nl/about/