Highest number of mortgage applications from first-time buyers in four years

In February, 30 percent more first-time buyers applied for a mortgage than in the same month last year, mortgage advisor De Hypotheekshop reported. It was the highest number of mortgage applications from first-time buyers in four years. “Rising incomes and reduced competition from investors in the housing market have created more opportunities for this group,” De Hypotheekshop said.

According to the mortgage advisor, first-time buyers are shifting from large cities to smaller municipalities, as well as tending towards provinces outside the Randstad. “These shifts may be caused by higher house prices and limited supply in the larger cities and the Randstad.”

First-time buyers are also showing increasing interest in newly-built homes. De Hypotheekshop attributes that to new lending standards, which allow mortgage providers to loan more for homes with higher energy labels.

According to De Hypotheekshop, the high number of mortgage applications from first-time buyers is less surprising than it may seem. Population figures from Statistics Netherlands show a peak in the age category 20-35. The surprising part was that the number of mortgage applications from first-time buyers, which includes this growing age group and the growing group of expats, remained stable for so long - from 2015 until now.

“It shows that an increasing proportion of people in this age group were unable to afford an owner-occupied home,” De Hypotheekshop said. Higher wages and government measures reducing competition from investors are giving first-time buyers more room in the housing market. And they appear to be taking advantage of that, De Hypotheekshop said.