Thursday, 28 March 2013 - 08:21
"Blok Mortgage" Unpopular
The “Blok mortgage” has to be the way to make the housing market moving again. But almost no bank wants to offer it and mortgage advisers refuse to sell it. RTL News concludes this after its own investigation.
Recently Volkskrant reported that the newly devised mortgage construction of Minister Stef Blok (Housing) to reduce monthly costs for starters proved to be very expensive. A calculation of the advice chain Hypotheker shows that an average starter with a block mortgage pays almost 60,000 euro more interest over the whole period than people with an annuity-type mortgage.
D66 MP Kees Verhoeven says, "This we already knew, because it follows from the Housing Agreement. This mortgage variant must be seen as an additional option besides the annuity. It can be attractive to starters because the monthly payments are lower." The Christian Union emphasizes extra freedom of choice, especially for starters. "But there's a price to pay, because borrowing more is more expensive."
According to RTL News, the banks do not see much business in the new Blok mortgage.