What I would do if I were house hunting here as a newcomer.

I am Jiri, an estate agent in Maastricht. Each guide answers one question I get from expats, without detours: the answer first, then the explanation, then what you can do today. Nothing here is a sales pitch for a mortgage or a buying service.

Start here

Buying a house in the Netherlands as an expat: what nobody tells newcomers
Estate agent Jiri's guide for expats buying a home in the Netherlands: who can buy, the mortgage, the buyer's costs, the steps from bid to keys, overbidding with the figures for 2026, and the route to homes before they are listed.
How to buy an off-market house in the Netherlands (without a buying agent)
Off-market or "stille verkoop" homes in the Netherlands are sold before they reach Funda. Estate agent Jiri explains how expats reach them: local agents' lists, and writing directly to homeowners.
Writing to a Dutch homeowner: a letter template that gets kept, not binned
A complete letter template (English and Dutch) for writing to the owner of a Dutch house that is not for sale, with estate agent Jiri's notes on what Dutch owners expect and what makes them throw a letter away.

Money and rules

Overbidding in the Netherlands in 2026: the public figures, per province, and how to avoid it
How much do buyers overbid in the Netherlands in 2026? Estate agent Jiri lines up the public figures from the NVM and Huispedia per quarter and per province, turns them into euros, and explains how to decide what you bid and how to avoid the bidding war altogether.
Do you need a buying agent in the Netherlands? What an aankoopmakelaar costs and what you can do yourself
What does a buying agent (aankoopmakelaar) cost in the Netherlands, and do expats need one? Estate agent Jiri explains the fee structures, what you get, which parts you can buy separately, when an agent is worth it, and the one part you do better yourself.
How to find the owner of a Dutch property: the Kadaster, what it costs, and what you may do with it
How do you find out who owns a house in the Netherlands? Estate agent Jiri on the Kadaster, the public land registry: what an ownership extract costs, what is in it, what the privacy law allows, and why a letter to "the resident(s) of" is usually enough.

Letter templates, in English and Dutch

Three letters you can send as they are
To the owner of a house that is not for sale, to a whole street, and the personal letter with your bid. Each in English and in Dutch, line for line the same, with one click into the send form.
Letter to a Dutch homeowner whose house is not for sale: a template in English and Dutch
A complete letter to the owner of a Dutch house that is not for sale, in English and in Dutch, with estate agent Jiri's notes on why each line is there and what to change. One click puts it in the send form.
A letter to a whole street in the Netherlands: template in English and Dutch
A letter you can send to every house in a Dutch street or neighbourhood, in English and in Dutch, with estate agent Jiri's notes on how to stay personal when you write to twenty doors at once.
A personal letter with your offer on a Dutch house: template and what the seller really reads
A template for the personal letter that goes with your bid on a Dutch house that is already for sale, in English and in Dutch, with estate agent Jiri's notes on when such a letter decides the sale and when it does not.

City by city

Buying a house in Amsterdam as an expat: how to get in before Funda
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Amsterdam as an expat: current prices from CBS, ground lease (erfpacht), owners' associations, and how to reach owners before their home is on Funda.
Buying a house in Utrecht as an expat: how to buy before the bidding starts
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Utrecht as an expat: the overbidding figures for the city and the province, what you pay from savings, the neighbourhoods where homes rarely reach Funda, and how to buy before a bidding round.
Buying a house in The Hague as an expat: how to reach a home before it is listed
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in The Hague as an expat: prices from CBS, split townhouses and owners' associations, ground lease, buy-to-let rules for people who may be posted elsewhere, and how to reach owners before Funda.
Buying a house in Rotterdam as an expat: more choice, and the foundations to check
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Rotterdam as an expat: prices from CBS, why to ask about the foundations of every older house, owners' associations, and how to reach owners in Kralingen, Hillegersberg and Blijdorp before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Eindhoven as an expat: what Brainport newcomers should know
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in and around Eindhoven as an expat: prices from CBS, a mortgage on a fixed-term contract, the villages around the city, and how to reach owners in Strijp-S, the Elzent and the Villapark before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Haarlem as an expat: Amsterdam's trains, and the streets everyone wants
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Haarlem as an expat: prices from CBS, the station and what it does to the market, foundations and owners' associations in the pre-war streets, and how to reach owners in the Kleverpark, Bosch en Vaart and the Koninginnebuurt before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Leiden as an expat: a mortgage on a research contract, and the 1930s streets
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Leiden as an expat: prices from CBS, a mortgage on a fixed-term research contract, what to check in a 1920s house, and how to reach owners in the Professorenwijk, the Burgemeesterswijk, the Vogelwijk and the Pieterswijk before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Maastricht as an expat: from the agent who sells there
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in his own city as an expat: prices from CBS, buying in the Netherlands against Belgium or Germany, monuments and marl, and how to reach owners in Wyck, the Jekerkwartier, Sint Pieter, Scharn and Biesland before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Groningen as an expat: low prices, fierce bidding, and the question about the ground
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Groningen as an expat: prices from CBS, the province's overbidding figures, a mortgage on a research contract, the question to ask about earthquakes, and how to reach owners in the Schildersbuurt, the Oranjebuurt and Helpman before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Delft as an expat: the TU, the canals, and the towns next door
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Delft as an expat: prices from CBS, Delft against Rijswijk and The Hague, a mortgage on a research contract, monuments and foundations in the old centre, and how to reach owners before their home is listed.
Buying a house in Amstelveen as an expat: the international suburb, and what to check before you buy
Estate agent Jiri on buying a home in Amstelveen as an expat: prices from CBS, what to check if your posting may end, buy-to-let rules, foundations in the 1930s streets, and how to reach owners in Elsrijk, the Randwijck and near the Amsterdamse Bos before their home is listed.

Neighbourhoods, city by city

For 53 neighbourhoods in 14 cities I have written which streets people ask about, how scarce the homes are and how to reach the owners, with live figures from the land registry and the CBS. All of it in English, translated from my Dutch pages.

The average sale price of every Dutch municipality since 1995, from the CBS: house prices per municipality.

Write your first letter, free.

Pick the address where you would like to live and write in your own words why, or start from one of the templates above. The first letter is free, printed and delivered by PostNL; the owner can reply anonymously with the code in the letter.

Write your first letter

Looking for this in Dutch? The Dutch guides, example letters and neighbourhoods are on the Dutch site.