Confidence in Dutch housing market fell further; Concern growing for first-time buyers

Confidence in the housing market declined considerably in March with more than 80% of buyers now thinking there is a problem with the housing market and only 12% being optimistic that the situation will improve in six months, ANP reported based on research from the real estate website Funda. March saw the lowest level of confidence recorded since Funda started conducting their research last July.

At the same time, first-time buyers on the housing market hardly benefited from the tax measures that came into effect at the beginning of this year, such as the abolition of transfer tax for younger buyera, ANP also reported based on a different research from the bank ABN Amro.

According to the bank, homes were more than 10 percent more expensive last February than in the same month the year before, which is the highest price increase in about twenty years.

Due to the brief abolition of the transfer tax for first-time buyers under 35, many people only bought a house at the beginning of this year. As a result, the demand for homes rose sending prices higher. First-time buyers could therefore not utilize the benefit as it only applied to homes priced up to 400 thousand euros.

Additionally, ABN Amro also expects house prices to rise even faster this year than previously anticipated. The bank now predicted a price increase of 7.5%, as opposed to the 5% they estimated previously.

The housing shortage was also an important issue during the March general elections, but the majority of surveyed people showed little confidence that the housing market will have an important place on the political agenda. People see the construction of more starter homes and to a lesser degree banning investors as the solution, according to Funda.

Measures that the government has taken so far to influence the housing market were judged moderately enthusiastic or even negative, according to the research. For example, two out of three respondents think that the temporary complete abolition of the transfer tax for starters has not helped and has only increased prices.