Buying
Buying a house in the Netherlands without a makelaar
Funda takes listings only from registered agents, so a home sold by its owner is not on the site almost every Dutch buyer searches.
English
Where private sellers actually list in the Netherlands
Each of these is a separate pool. A saved search on one tells you nothing about the others, so set up alerts on every one you intend to use.
- Anyone.com Listed by the owner
Homes listed by their owners, which is precisely what Funda will not show you. You approach the owner yourself and agree terms with them, and the notaris then handles the transfer the way it always does.
More than 31 million active listings across 31 markets, agent-represented and owner-listed together. Funda carries only listings from registered agents, and Funda's own Q2 2026 market update put the Dutch stock at roughly 111,000 homes.
Search owner-listed homes ↗ - Funda Agents only
Buyer filter Not applicable, because no private sellers are on it
Founded by the NVM, the estate agents' association, and it accepts listings only from registered agents. A particulier cannot post here at all. This is the cleanest example of portal gatekeeping anywhere we cover: search Funda alone and you will never see a home sold without an agent, no matter how you filter.
- Marktplaats Owners can list
Buyer filter The Huizen te koop category, which is owner-posted by default
Free and open to anyone, which makes it the main place a Dutch owner advertises when they are not paying for an agent. The volume is small next to Funda and the listings are basic, so judge them on the photographs and the address rather than the write-up.
- Jaap and Huizenzoeker Owners can list
Buyer filter None specifically, and much of the stock is scraped from elsewhere
Aggregators that pull in listings from across the market and also accept some direct ones. Useful as a second net, though a lot of what you see will already have been on Funda.
- Facebook and local groups Owners can list
Buyer filter Search the gemeente or wijk name with te koop
Where a fair number of Dutch owners start, particularly outside the Randstad and for homes sold within a family or a street. Nothing is verified and there are no certificates attached.
How many homes this really covers
Around 2 percent of Dutch homes are sold without a makelaar, and the sources for that figure are agent-affiliated, so treat it as indicative rather than exact. The practical consequence is the same either way: this is a supplement to your Funda search, not a replacement for it. An entire industry of internetmakelaars exists, from roughly €279, purely to get private sellers onto Funda, which tells you how much everyone still believes that is where buyers look.
Article 7:2 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek
Two protections that a Dutch buyer keeps whether or not an agent is involved. The purchase of a home by a private buyer is only valid in writing, so nothing said at a viewing binds you. And once you have signed the koopakte you have three days to withdraw, without giving a reason and without penalty. That cooling-off is yours alone; the seller does not get it. When you are buying privately and doing your own checking, those three days are the window to have someone read the contract properly.
In force since 1 September 2003. Read the legislation
Buying one, step by step
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Keep searching Funda, and add the others alongside it
Funda still holds the overwhelming majority of what is for sale. The point is not to leave it, but to stop treating it as the whole market. Set a saved search on Marktplaats and check the local Facebook groups weekly.
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Get your mortgage advice done before you view
Dutch sellers move fast and a private seller has no makelaar filtering enquiries for them. Turning up with your financing already assessed puts you ahead of buyers who have not.
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Book a bouwkundige keuring
A structural survey is normal here and costs a few hundred euros. With no selling agent to ask about the roof or the foundations, this is where the answers come from.
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Put your conditions in the koopakte
Financing and the outcome of the survey both belong in the contract as ontbindende voorwaarden, with dates. A private seller may want to use a model contract; have your notaris read it before you sign.
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Use the three days
The statutory cooling-off starts the day after you receive the signed contract. Spend it on the contract and the title, not on second thoughts about the kitchen.
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Complete at the notaris
They handle the transfer tax, clear any existing mortgage on the property, register the deed at the Kadaster and pay the seller. The keys change hands there.
Check before any money moves
- The energielabel, which is compulsory at sale and increasingly affects what a lender will offer
- Whether the transfer tax you owe is the 2 percent own-home rate, the starter exemption if you are under 35 and under the annually indexed price cap, or the much higher rate that applies when it will not be your own home
- Erfpacht, particularly in Amsterdam: whether the ground lease is bought off in perpetuity, and what the next revision does to the annual canon
- For an appartementsrecht, the VvE: its reserve fund, the monthly contribution and any major works already agreed
- The Kadaster record for the registered owner, existing mortgages and any right of way over the land
- Funderingsproblematiek in the west of the country, where wooden pile foundations under older houses are a known and expensive risk
Selling one instead? See where to list a home yourself in the Netherlands , or the full guide to selling without an agent in the Netherlands .
Common questions
Why can I not find privately sold houses on Funda?
Because Funda only accepts listings from registered estate agents. It was set up by the NVM, the agents' own association. A private seller has no route onto it except by paying an internetmakelaar to place the listing for them.
Do I need a makelaar to buy a house in the Netherlands?
No. You need a notaris, because the transfer has to be done by notarial deed and registered at the Kadaster. An aankoopmakelaar is optional and is a service you buy for yourself, not something the transaction requires.
Can I really pull out after signing?
Yes, within three days of receiving the signed koopakte, with no reason and no penalty. The right belongs to the private buyer only. It is short, so line up whoever is going to read the contract before you sign rather than after.
Is buying without an agent cheaper?
Not on the fee, because the seller pays that and it is small here anyway. The argument for buying privately is access to homes that never reach Funda, and dealing with the owner rather than through someone whose job is to get the highest price for them.
Where do private sellers actually advertise?
Marktplaats first, then local Facebook groups, then the aggregators. A good number eventually pay an internetmakelaar to get onto Funda, so a home that starts out private may appear there weeks later at the same price.
Sources
Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, article 2, written contract and cooling-off periodOverheid.nl · wetten.overheid.nl
- Houses for sale, private listingsMarktplaats · marktplaats.nl
- Overdrachtsbelasting rates and the starter exemptionBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- Property registration and title recordsKadaster · kadaster.nl
- De stand van wonend Nederland, Q2 2026, homes available on FundaFunda · funda.nl