Buying a house in Princenhage (Breda): how to reach the owners
Princenhage is a neighbourhood where little comes up for sale and much of it changes hands without ever reaching Funda. If you want to live here, a personal letter to the owners in a few chosen streets gives you a better chance than waiting for a listing.
In short
- Princenhage has 4,828 addresses in the BAG register.
- An existing home in the municipality of Breda sold in 2025 for €509,000 on average, +5.0% on 2024 (CBS StatLine).
Written by Jiri, estate agent in Maastricht and founder of DoorLetter.
Updated on 6 October 2026.
Princenhage has been part of Breda since 1942, but it still feels like a village, and you notice that in how houses change hands here. A home in the old core rarely comes up for sale publicly. The street knows before Funda does, and the house goes to someone from the village or to someone who had already come forward to the owner. People from outside the village often only hear afterwards that something was for sale.
Until 1942 Princenhage was a municipality of its own. Its heart is still the Haagsemarkt, with the Martinuskerk and the old town hall. Along the Haagweg stand villas from the time the village was still independent, such as Haghehoeck from 1926 on the corner of the Laan van Mertersem. Around that, Princenhage grew further after the war, with terraced houses and detached houses in quiet streets. Most in demand is a house within walking distance of the Haagsemarkt, and a villa on the Haagweg rarely comes free.
If I were looking here, I would pick the Laan van Mertersem and the Esserstraat, close to the core, and write to the residents of the houses that suit me. In the letter I would say who I am, why I want to live in Princenhage in particular, and that I am going to live in the house myself. An owner here wants to know who his house is going to, and a letter tells that better than an offer.
Princenhage in figures
Public figures about the neighbourhood, refreshed daily. They say something about who lives here and what it costs; whether anything will come up for sale, they do not say. That is what the letter is for.
Homes
- Addresses
- 4,828
- BAG via PDOK
Value and prices
- Average sale price, municipality of Breda
- €509,000+5.0% on 2024
- CBS StatLine, existing homes 2025
Sources: the Dutch address and building register (BAG) via PDOK, CBS neighbourhood statistics (Wijken en Buurten), CBS StatLine (existing owner-occupied homes, average sale price per municipality). No source publishes overbidding figures per neighbourhood, so they are not here.
The average sale price in Breda per year since 1995
Streets people ask about
These are the streets most often named by people searching in Princenhage. Choose one or two where you would really want to live, not the whole list.
Haagsemarkt · Haagweg · Laan van Mertersem · Esserstraat · Liesbosstraat · Dreef
Postcode area 4813.
Other neighbourhoods in Breda
This page in Dutch: Huis kopen in Princenhage.
Frequently asked questions
How do I approach owners in Princenhage?
Pick the streets where you would really want to live, around the Haagsemarkt for instance, and write the residents of the houses you like one personal letter: who you are, why Princenhage, and that you are going to live there yourself. Through DoorLetter the first letter is free, printed and delivered by PostNL; the owner can reply anonymously with the code in the letter.
Does much come up for sale in Princenhage?
Around the village core little, and what comes free there often changes hands within the village before there is a sign in the garden. In the post-war streets something comes up for sale more often, but there too the houses with a large garden go quickly.
Which streets are most sought after?
The streets around the Haagsemarkt, such as the Liesbosstraat and the Dreef, and the avenues near the older villas on the Haagweg. Anyone who wants something a little less old finds more choice in the post-war streets, with the market square still close by.
What is the difference between Princenhage and Prinsenbeek?
They are two villages with almost the same name. Princenhage, on the west side of Breda, has been part of the city since 1942. Prinsenbeek is a different village, further to the north-west, which became part of Breda in 1997. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) counts them separately, and the figures on this page cover Princenhage only.
Write to the owners in Princenhage.
Pick a street, write in your own words why you want to live in Princenhage, and send your letter. 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