Short answer: your offer (bod) contains an amount, a period for which it's valid and your conditions (voorbehouden), such as financing, a building survey or the sale of your own home. The asking price is not an offer: if you bid the asking price, you haven't automatically bought the house. Even after a "yes", nothing is fixed yet. When a private buyer buys a home, the sale only exists once buyer and seller have both signed the purchase agreement (koopakte), and according to the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) a private seller can also back out until then. Since 1 February 2026, estate agents who are members of the NVM must follow a fixed bidding protocol, with an online bidding system and a bidding log (biedlogboek) that you can inspect afterwards.
First: know what you're bidding on
With a house you'll pay for all maintenance yourself, from gutter to foundations. So an offer is only well founded if you know what state the house is in and what rights and obligations come with the land. Under the NVM protocol the agent puts the sales information online. Depending on what's available, it includes:
- the title deed and the cadastral map;
- a measurement report;
- the WOZ assessment (the municipal property valuation) and other municipal tax bills;
- a building survey, if the seller had one done;
- the energy label;
- the questionnaire the seller filled in;
- the list of items (lijst van zaken): what stays, what goes?
The seller and their agent have a duty of care for the accuracy of those documents, and you must be told if anything changes. Read the title deed in particular: it contains the leasehold, easements and chain clauses that will apply to you too. An annual ground rent (erfpachtcanon) or a right of way for the neighbours affects what the house is worth to you.
If the seller had a survey done, that's their report. If you want certainty, have your own survey done, and make it a condition in your offer.
What do you put in your offer?
The protocol requires an offer to contain at least:
- the amount;
- the period or date until which your offer is valid;
- your conditions: financing, building survey, sale of your own home, or others.
The bidding form also states the seller's preferred handover date: as soon as possible, by arrangement, a fixed date or a period. A handover date that fits can weigh more heavily than a few thousand euros extra.
About conditions: every condition makes your offer weaker for the seller, but without a condition you carry the risk yourself. With a house the survey condition matters more than with an apartment, because there is no owners' association (VvE) that carries part of the maintenance. And the condition for the sale of your own home is often the first thing a seller rejects. Whatever you agree, it comes back in the purchase agreement as a condition (ontbindende voorwaarde), with a fixed date.
You can withdraw your offer at any time until agreement is reached. You then get a written confirmation.
The four bidding methods
The agent chooses one of four methods together with the seller, and states it with the rules in the bidding form:
| Method | Who sees the offers? |
|---|---|
| Tender with a bidding period (inschrijving met biedtermijn) | the seller and their agent straight away, you don't |
| Closed tender with a bidding period (gesloten inschrijving met biedtermijn) | nobody until the closing date, then the seller and their agent |
| Open auction with a bidding period (open veiling met biedtermijn) | everyone, including the other bidders |
| Bidding without a bidding period (bieden zonder biedtermijn) | one-to-one negotiation: you get a rejection, a counter-offer or an acceptance |
With a tender, the agent shares nothing about other offers with you or your buying agent, and may not inform bidders differently about a "desired offer". After the closing date the seller decides whether, and to whom, to award the house. Everyone hears the outcome in writing. If the seller awards it to nobody, you're also told why.
The seller is expected to respect their bidding period. They may stop the procedure before the closing date and switch to another method, if they inform all bidders in writing that they're doing so and why.
The protocol doesn't always apply. It doesn't cover off-market sales, a private sale between people who already knew each other, notarial auctions, rented homes sold as an investment to the non-private market, or houseboats and caravans used as homes. The seller can also deviate from it for compelling reasons; every bidder must then be told. And if the agent isn't an NVM member, ask which rules they follow.
Agreed. Is the house yours now?
Not yet. Two rules see to that.
The asking price is an invitation, not an offer. In 1981 the Supreme Court ruled that an advertisement with a price is "in principle" an invitation "to enter into negotiations", in which "the person of the prospective buyer" can also matter. If you bid the asking price or more, the seller may still refuse or choose someone else.
No signatures, no sale. If you buy a home as a private buyer, the purchase must be made in writing (article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code). So a verbal agreement doesn't bind you. In 2011 the Supreme Court decided that this also applies to a private seller: they cannot be forced to sign, and damages are only possible in "very special circumstances". Receiving a higher offer in the meantime does "in principle" not count as such a circumstance. The protocol adds that a confirmation email or a draft purchase agreement that was sent to you does not count as a signed purchase agreement.
There is one exception: if the seller is not a private person, for example an investor or a property developer selling in the course of business, then according to the protocol they cannot rely on the absence of a signed agreement.
Under offer: can someone still overtake you?
Yes, as long as the purchase agreement hasn't been signed by both of you. If another offer comes in after the house was awarded to you or after the closing date, the agent must report it to the seller. The seller can then:
- give all bidders a new chance, with a new closing date;
- let only you and the new bidder bid again;
- withdraw the award to you and continue with the new bidder;
- reject the new offer.
With one-to-one negotiation, the protocol considers the last three the most appropriate. Either way, you're told in writing.
This works the other way round for you too: if a house is under offer to someone else, you can still bid.
If you're the lucky one, ask straight away when the purchase agreement will be ready. Only sign once you've read it, and then use your three-day cooling-off period (bedenktijd) to check it.
The bidding log
Since 2023, estate agents who belong to a trade association such as the NVM or Vastgoed Nederland work with a digital bidding log (biedlogboek). The platform compiles it automatically and it can't be changed. It contains at least the asking price, the sale price, the sales method, all offers and the moment the house was awarded.
As soon as the sale is final, so after the cooling-off period and after the conditions, all bidders are notified. You can then inspect the log for one month, with other people's personal details anonymised. You don't get access if you withdrew your offer early, or if the seller didn't consider you a realistic bidder; in that last case you can ask for an explanation. If you're wrongly refused the log, ask the selling agent for it, and otherwise go to the Geschillencommissie Makelaardij (the disputes committee for estate agents).
Frequently asked questions
Does the seller have to accept an offer above the asking price?
No. The asking price is an invitation to negotiate. The seller may choose, and also looks at your conditions and your handover date.
Can the seller still sell to someone else after a verbal "yes"?
Yes, if they're a private person and the purchase agreement hasn't yet been signed by both of you. According to the Supreme Court, a higher offer from someone else is in principle no reason for damages.
Which conditions do I put in an offer on a house?
Financing and a building survey are usual. If you already own a home, possibly the sale of it. Agree a date for each condition and make sure it comes back in the purchase agreement.
May the agent tell me what I need to bid to win?
Not in a tender: they may not share anything about other offers and may not inform bidders unequally about a desired offer. Only in an open auction do you see the other offers.
Can I withdraw my offer?
Yes, until agreement is reached. After that, as a private buyer you're only bound once you sign the purchase agreement, and even then you have three days to reconsider.
Sources
- NVM: Transparent Bidding Protocol for Residential Property (mandatory for NVM agents since 1 February 2026; accessed 27 October 2026; in Dutch)
- NVM: Bidding log (accessed 27 October 2026; in Dutch)
- Volkshuisvesting Nederland: Bidding log (accessed 27 October 2026; in Dutch)
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7, article 2 (purchase in writing and cooling-off period; in Dutch)
- Supreme Court 10 April 1981, ECLI:NL:HR:1981:AG4177 (an advertisement with a price is an invitation to negotiate; in Dutch)
- Supreme Court 9 December 2011, ECLI:NL:HR:2011:BU7412 (a private seller is also only bound after a written purchase; in Dutch)