Record number of mortgage applications in Netherlands last year

Over 500 thousand mortgage applications were submitted in the Netherlands last year, an increase of almost 25 percent compared to 2019, which was already a record year, Hypotheken Data Netwerk (HDN) reported on Thursday.

Most applications were for the purchase of a new home, but refinancing or taking out a second mortgage also skyrocketed seeing increases up to 50 percent, HDN director Merlyn van den Berg said to BNR.

"In the first lockdown, it looked like interest rates would go up. Then many people refinanced their mortgage at a lower interest rate. The increase in second mortgage is mainly due to the increase in the number of renovations,", Van den Berg said. On Wednesday, Rente.nl reported that mortgage interests decreased last year. People who took out a 20 year mortgage with National Mortgage Guarantee on January 1 this year, did so at a record low interest of 1.23 percent.

According to Van den Berg, many people underestimate the penalty interest they get when refinancing a mortgage. "People who want to stay in their home for another 20 to 30 years will eventually cancel that penalty interest out, if you calculate that. The downside is that many people remain in their homes, because the home value is rising and starters in particular have difficulty finding a home."