After four years of falling property prices, the housing market slump in the Netherlands has continued this year, with prices down by -4.7% in the first quarter, compared to Q1 the previous year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The annual fall is the largest since 2008.

The average property price was €230,341 in March 2012 and apartment prices fell by -4.9% to €183,213 and house prices by -6.4% to €247,206.

According to CBS, the last time that property prices increased by more than 7% in one year was in 2001.

House prices in the Netherlands are expected to fall by another -5% this year, according to the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM). Almost all cities and municipalities in the country have seen their house prices falling in the first quarter of 2012.

Among the major cities, Amsterdam (-3.9%) and Maastricht (-3.8%) have seen the highest house price falls, according to the CBS. Nationally, house prices fell by -2.8% in Q1.

The Dutch economy is projected to contract by -0.5% in 2012 and it entered recession in Q4 2011.