Middle class squeezed out of housing market; No homes available on €35,000 salary

It is almost impossible for a household with a joint annual income of 35,000 euros or less to buy a house in the Netherlands, the Land Registry reported based on housing market figures for 2017 to 2021.

"A household with an income below 35,000 euros has hardly any chance of buying a home," the researchers said. Even incomes up to 60,000 euros don't have much chance. They can only afford 37 percent of homes in the Netherlands, compared to 65 percent four years ago.

In both cases, the situation is worst in the four large cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht - because home prices are highest there.

The high house prices in Amsterdam are also reflected in the increase in the number of millionaires in the capital. According to Statistics Netherlands, 4.4 percent of Amsterdam residents were millionaires on 1 January 2020. That means they had total assets of over 1 million euros, including the value of their own home and minus liabilities like mortgage and other debts. The percentage doubled in the past five years.

According to the stats office, Amsterdam is growing into a city of rich people and poor people, with very little in the middle. 35 percent of the city's population have high incomes, and 47.6 percent have low incomes. The middle class makes up only 18 percent of the population.