Why do some houses sell faster than others?

In the dynamic Dutch housing market of 2026, you often see a remarkable contrast: while one house sold within three days with a row of candidates around the corner, a comparable home three blocks away has been for sale for months. How is that possible? In a market with a structural deficit, you would expect everything to go very fast, but the practice is more nuanced.

The speed of a sale is no coincidence. It is the result of a complex interplay between objective factors (such as location and price) and psychological triggers (such as presentation and favor factor). Whether you're a seller who wants to get off to a flying start, or a buyer who wants to understand why some properties fly off the market, these are the driving forces behind a quick sale.

Pricing Strategy: Hitting the Sweet Spot

Price is the most important filter for any home seeker. A home that is priced too high simply won't appear in prospective buyers' search results.

• The psychological limit: Many buyers search in blocks (up to €450,000, for example). If you're listing your home for €455,000, you're missing out on a huge group looking just below that limit.
• Market sharply: In 2026, the strategy is often to place the asking price slightly below the actual market value. This creates a “bidding war”. The huge influx during the first viewing days provides social proof: if so many people want it, it must be a good home. This drives up both the price and the speed.

Location: The one thing you can't change

It's a cliché, but it's true: location is everything. A house in a popular neighborhood with good schools, lots of greenery and a train station within walking distance sells itself.

Yet it goes beyond the city alone. Buyers are paying extreme attention to micro-locations in 2026:

• Noise and nuisance: Is the house on a main road or under an approach path? Then the sale will take longer.
• Future developments: Are there plans for a new park or a distribution center nearby? Smart buyers do their homework and this affects the speed of sales directly.

Presentation and “Ready to Move In”

Today's average buyer has little time and often even less appetite for a major renovation. Homes that are “ready to move in” sell exponentially faster than DIY homes.

The Power of Visualization

People don't buy homes; they're buying a vision of the future. When a home is full of personal items, dark furniture, and overdue maintenance, buyers can't see themselves living there.

• Real estate styling: Homes that are professionally styled, where spaces are used optimally and colors are neutral, attract more viewers.
• First impression online: Smartphone sales will begin in 2026. Professional photography, 3D tours and videos are no longer perks, but a bitter necessity. A bad main photo means that people won't even click on the ad.

Energy efficiency: The 2026 factor

Where the kitchen or bathroom used to be the deciding factor, that is now the energy label. At a time of fluctuating energy prices and stricter climate rules, buyers are looking directly at the monthly costs.

• Label A or higher: Homes with a heat pump, solar panels and high-quality insulation fly away. Buyers know that they can get a higher mortgage for energy-efficient homes and that they don't have to invest tens of thousands of euros in sustainability.
• Label E, F or G: These houses will stay in place longer. The uncertainty about the costs of making these houses future-proof scares off a large group of start-ups.

The state of the market and the interest rate

External economic conditions play a major role. When mortgage rates are low, people dare to decide more quickly. Once interest rates rise, buyers become more cautious and critical. This delays the average sales time of all homes, but those that meet the above criteria (price, location, energy) remain the exception to the rule.

The reach: Marketing and brokerage

A quick sale is also a matter of reach. A realtor who only places a sign in the garden does not do enough.

• Social media: Using targeted ads on Instagram and TikTok reaches the target group that may not be actively searching for Funda yet, but is “latent” looking for homes.
• The broker's database: The best real estate agents have a list of searchers who they call immediately before the property comes online. This often leads to a sale within 24 hours.

Seller flexibility

Sometimes the speed of sales depends on the conditions. A seller who is willing to adapt the delivery to the buyer's wishes, or who has already had an architectural report drawn up, removes barriers. Transparency builds trust. If all information (questionnaire, VVE minutes, inspections) is immediately available, a buyer dares to make a final offer more quickly without endless reservations.

The success formula: The sum of success

Houses that sell at lightning speed owe that success to the perfect synergy: stimulating the right emotion at the right price. It is the interplay between rational certainty, such as a favourable energy label and a conclusive dossier, and that indispensable click. In short: a balance between the “wow factor” upon arrival and a good feeling in your wallet.