You make an offer on a house in the Netherlands, wait nervously for the estate agent to call, and eventually discover that another buyer has been selected.
The first question is often obvious: how much did the winning buyer offer?
In the Netherlands, you may be able to find out through the biedlogboek, usually translated as the bidding logbook or bid log.
The biedlogboek records the bids submitted during the sale of a property. If you actually made an offer, you can usually view the bidding logbook after the sale has become final. This gives you much more insight into what happened during the bidding process, including the amounts offered and the conditions attached to different bids.
For expats buying a home in the Netherlands, understanding the biedlogboek is particularly useful. The Dutch bidding process can be very different from what you are used to in your home country.
At Expat Mortgage Platform, we help international buyers understand both their mortgage possibilities and the financial consequences of making an offer before they commit themselves.
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What is a biedlogboek?
A biedlogboek is a digital record of the bidding process for a property.
In English, you may see it described as a:
Bidding logbook, bid log, bidding register, bidding record or digital bidding log.
The Dutch term you are most likely to encounter when dealing with an estate agent is biedlogboek.
The purpose of the system is to make the bidding process more transparent. Instead of unsuccessful bidders simply being told that their offer was rejected, the bidding process can later be checked.
Depending on the system and sales procedure, the bidding logbook can contain information such as the amount of each bid, the time at which the bid was submitted, conditions attached to the offer, information about negotiations and the eventual purchase price.
Personal information is protected, so you do not simply receive a list containing the names and contact details of everyone who made an offer.
Can you view other bids after making an offer on a house?
Yes, if you actually submitted a bid and the property was sold through a bidding process covered by a bidding logbook, you can generally view the biedlogboek once the sale has become irrevocable.
Simply viewing the property is not enough.
You normally need to have submitted an actual offer to qualify as a bidder.
This means that if you lost a bidding process, you can later see how your bid compared with the other offers.
That can answer questions such as:
- Was the winning bid much higher than mine?
- Did another buyer offer roughly the same amount?
- Did the winning buyer include fewer conditions?
- Was my offer actually registered?
- How many people made an offer?
- What was the final agreed purchase price?
This information can also be useful when preparing your bidding strategy for your next property.
When can you see the biedlogboek?
You cannot normally open the bidding logbook while the sale is still taking place simply to see what everyone else is offering.
Access for bidders is provided afterwards.
The important moment is when the purchase has become onherroepelijk, meaning irrevocable.
In practice, this means that the statutory cooling-off period for the buyer has passed and the relevant conditions in the accepted offer have expired.
For example, the winning buyer may have made the offer subject to obtaining a mortgage. Until the period for that financing condition has expired, the transaction may not yet be irrevocable.
If you want to understand this part of the Dutch purchase process in more detail, read our guide to the cooling-off period when buying a house in the Netherlands.
With the NVM system, bidders receive a notification once the transaction has become irrevocable and the bidding logbook is available. The access period may depend on the system being used, so it is sensible to open and save the information when you receive access.
What information is in the bidding logbook?
A biedlogboek is designed to show how the sale progressed rather than merely revealing the winning price.
Depending on the bidding system and protocol used by the estate agent, you can expect information about the bids submitted, their timing and relevant conditions.
This can be especially important because sellers in the Netherlands do not necessarily choose the highest bid.
Imagine that you offered €510,000 subject to obtaining mortgage financing and a technical inspection.
Another buyer offered €505,000 with significantly fewer conditions.
The seller may decide that the €505,000 offer gives them more certainty and choose that buyer instead.
Looking only at the amounts would therefore not tell the whole story. The conditions attached to an offer can be important when a seller compares different bids.
Does the highest bid always win?
No.
The seller decides which offer to accept.
Purchase price is important, but it is not the only factor that can influence the decision.
A seller may also consider the financing conditions, desired completion date, technical inspection condition, and other terms included in an offer.
This is an important distinction for expat buyers.
Trying to win by simply increasing your offer can create financial problems if the property is eventually valued below your purchase price. Your maximum mortgage is primarily linked to the value of the property and your personal borrowing capacity, not simply to whatever amount you decide to offer.
That is why you should know your financial position before entering a competitive bidding process.
Use our Dutch mortgage calculator for expats for an initial indication. For an accurate bidding limit, we recommend having your personal situation assessed before submitting an offer.
Is the biedlogboek mandatory in the Netherlands?
This requires an important distinction.
The biedlogboek is not a statutory requirement that automatically applies to every estate agent operating in the Netherlands.
However, estate agents affiliated with the major Dutch industry organisations are subject to sector rules concerning bidding logbooks.
NVM members have used digital bidding logbooks since 2023. Since 1 February 2026, NVM estate agents must also apply the NVM Protocol Transparant Bieden Woonruimte when the protocol applies to the residential sale.
VBO and VastgoedPro, names that you may still encounter in older information about bidding logbooks, merged on 1 January 2025 and now operate as Vastgoed Nederland.
If you are dealing with an unaffiliated estate agent, do not automatically assume that exactly the same rules and procedures apply.
Before submitting an offer, you can ask the selling estate agent which bidding procedure is being used and whether you will receive access to a bidding logbook afterwards.
What changed in the Dutch bidding process?
The digital bidding logbook was introduced following concerns about transparency in the Dutch housing market.
Buyers regularly found themselves in situations where they had submitted a substantial offer but received very little information afterwards.
The bidding logbook makes the process more traceable.
A further technical standard, NTA 8061, was published to establish minimum requirements for bidding processes and bidding logbooks, including requirements relating to privacy, system security and the recording of different sales methods.
NVM also has its own Transparent Bidding Protocol, which became mandatory for NVM estate agents on 1 February 2026.
For buyers, the practical principle is straightforward: bids should be recorded in a structured system so that the bidding process can be reviewed afterwards.
How do you request the biedlogboek after losing a bid?
In many digital bidding systems, you do not need to do much.
Once the purchase has become irrevocable, bidders can receive access or a notification telling them that the logbook is available.
If you submitted an offer and hear nothing, contact the selling estate agent.
You can simply ask:
“I submitted an offer on this property. Could you please provide access to the biedlogboek now that the sale has become irrevocable?”
Make sure you use the email address connected with your bid, particularly if the estate agent used a platform such as Move or another digital bidding system.
If you used a buying agent, your aankoopmakelaar may also be able to access the information.
What if the estate agent does not give you access?
First check whether the transaction has actually become irrevocable.
A property appearing as “sold subject to conditions” or “verkocht onder voorbehoud” does not necessarily mean that the entire process has been completed.
There may still be a financing condition or another contingency running.
If the transaction is final and you submitted a bid, contact the selling estate agent and explicitly request the biedlogboek.
You should also establish whether the estate agent is affiliated with NVM or Vastgoed Nederland, because that determines which sector rules and complaints procedures may apply.
If you believe an affiliated estate agent is failing to comply with the applicable bidding rules, you can use the complaints route associated with the relevant organisation. Dutch government guidance also refers consumers who cannot resolve a bidding logbook dispute with the selling agent to the appropriate real estate dispute procedure.
Keep your original offer confirmation and any emails from the bidding platform. These documents can help establish that you participated in the bidding process.
Can you see who made the other bids?
No, bidders do not receive the personal details of all other potential buyers.
The information is anonymised to protect privacy.
The purpose of the biedlogboek is to make the process transparent, not to reveal the identities of competing buyers.
For example, you may be able to see that several offers were submitted and compare the amounts and relevant conditions without seeing the names, addresses or other personal information of the people behind those offers.
Personal messages or other information that could identify a bidder should also be protected.
Can the biedlogboek help you make a better offer next time?
It can certainly provide useful information.
Suppose you repeatedly offer €20,000 above the asking price but discover through bidding logbooks that comparable homes are consistently receiving successful offers €40,000 or €50,000 above asking.
That tells you something about the local market.
But there is an important warning.
Do not treat previous bidding logs as a formula that tells you exactly what to offer on the next property.
Every property is different. Asking prices can be deliberately positioned below expected market value, the condition of the home matters, valuations differ, and the financial situation of competing buyers is unknown.
Your own maximum should therefore come from two sides:
What the property is reasonably worth and what you can safely finance.
The second part is where mortgage preparation becomes essential.
Read our complete guide to buying a house in the Netherlands as an expat to understand the complete process from mortgage preparation to receiving the keys.
Bidding above the asking price and your mortgage
One of the biggest mistakes you can make after repeatedly losing bidding processes is assuming that you simply need to bid more.
You may be able to afford a certain purchase price based on your income, but that does not automatically mean a Dutch mortgage lender will finance the entire amount you offer.
The property’s appraised market value also matters.
If you agree to pay €550,000 but the property is valued at €525,000, you cannot simply assume that the bank will finance the €25,000 difference.
You may need to use your own funds.
On top of that, you need to consider acquisition costs, mortgage advice, valuation costs, notary costs, and potentially a bank guarantee or deposit.
If your offer is accepted, you may eventually also need to arrange a deposit or bank guarantee. You can read more in our guide to the bank guarantee and deposit when buying a house in the Netherlands.
Be careful about bidding without a financing condition
Another thing you may notice in a biedlogboek is that the winning offer included different conditions from yours.
That does not automatically mean you should remove your own financing condition next time.
An offer without a financing contingency can be attractive to a seller because it provides more certainty. For the buyer, however, it can also create significant financial risk if the mortgage cannot ultimately be obtained.
This is particularly relevant for expats.
Residence status, foreign income, temporary employment contracts, bonus income, self-employment and existing financial commitments can all affect the mortgage assessment.
Before making an unconditional offer, you should therefore understand how realistic your mortgage application is.
Financial preparation should happen before the bidding deadline, not after your offer has already been accepted.
Prepare your financing before you bid
The bidding logbook gives you information after a sale.
Good mortgage preparation helps you before the sale.
Before bidding on a property in the Netherlands, you should understand your realistic maximum mortgage, the cash you have available, the effect of bidding above the appraised value, your expected monthly payments, and the consequences of the conditions included in your offer.
You should also have the main documents required for your mortgage application ready.
Our expat mortgage document checklist can help you prepare.
At Expat Mortgage Platform, we specialise in mortgage advice for international buyers in the Netherlands. We assess your situation before you make important commitments and compare mortgage options across suitable Dutch lenders.
Made an offer or preparing to bid on a house?
You do not need to wait until your offer has been accepted to start arranging your mortgage.
In a competitive housing market, knowing your position beforehand can make the bidding process much easier.
Expat Mortgage Platform can help you determine what you can realistically borrow, how much of your own money you may need, and how your personal situation will be assessed by Dutch mortgage lenders.
Your first consultation is free and without obligation.
Frequently asked questions about the biedlogboek
What does biedlogboek mean in English?
Biedlogboek can be translated as bidding logbook, bid log or bidding record. It is a digital record showing how the bidding process for a Dutch property took place.
Can I see the biedlogboek if my offer was rejected?
Yes, if you actually submitted an offer and the applicable bidding procedure provides access to bidders. Access is normally provided after the purchase has become irrevocable.
When can I view the bids on a house?
Normally after the sale has become final and the relevant cooling-off period and conditions attached to the accepted offer have expired. You cannot generally use the logbook during a closed bidding process to discover competing offers before submitting your own.
Does the bidding logbook show the winning offer?
The bidding logbook can show the bids submitted during the sale and information about the eventual transaction, allowing unsuccessful bidders to understand how their own offer compared with the successful result.
Are the names of the bidders shown?
No. Personal information is anonymised. The objective is to provide transparency about the bidding process without revealing the identities of competing buyers.
Does the seller have to accept the highest bid?
No. The seller decides which offer to accept. Conditions, certainty, completion date, and other terms can influence the choice as well as the purchase price.
Is a biedlogboek legally mandatory?
There is currently no universal statutory obligation requiring every estate agent in the Netherlands to use one. However, estate agents affiliated with relevant industry organisations are subject to sector requirements concerning bidding logbooks.
What should I do if I do not receive the biedlogboek?
First establish whether the purchase has become irrevocable. If it has, contact the selling estate agent and request access. Keep evidence confirming that you submitted an offer.
Can I use the biedlogboek to decide how much to offer on another house?
It can provide useful insight into previous bidding behaviour, but it should not determine your maximum offer. Your bid should also be based on the property’s expected value, your borrowing capacity, available savings and acceptable monthly costs.
Can Expat Mortgage Platform help me before I make an offer?
Yes. We can calculate your realistic borrowing capacity, review your personal financial situation, and explain how Dutch mortgage lenders are likely to assess your application. Preparing your financing before bidding can help you make an offer with much more clarity and confidence.
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