Homeownership still unaffordable for average Netherlands resident: Hypotheker

The chance for a single person with an average income to find an affordable home to buy is still virtually zero, De Hypotheker reports after research. “The situation for Average Joe is hardly changed because the increased mortgage interest rate has offset the increase in income.”

According to the mortgage organization, only 1.1 percent of the total housing stock is accessible to this group. The situation for dual-income couples with an average income has clearly improved compared to last year. “While only 20.2 percent of homes for sale were available to them in 2022, this is now 24.4 percent,” the researchers said.

The Central Planning Office (CPB) set the average income at 41,500 euros this year. With such a salary, a single person can get a mortgage of approximately 171,000 euros at an average 10-year interest rate of 4.3 percent.

For that amount of money, single people have the best chance of finding a home in Groningen, where they can afford 7 percent of the total housing supply. Limburg, Friesland, and Zeeland follow with percentages around 4 percent. In the big cities, single average earners have virtually no chance. “In Flevoland (0.1 percent) and Utrecht (0.2 percent), the prospects for singles are the least positive,” said the Hypotheker.