Major lenders are increasing mortgage interest rates

All major lenders in the Netherlands have increased their mortgage interest rates once or twice in the past two weeks, including Rabobank, ING, ABN AMRO, SNS Bank, Aegon, NN and Triodos. Most of the financial institutions increased their rates by 0.05 to 0.10 percentage points last week.

That is the largest weekly increase in six months, according to De Hypotheekshop. Lenders are increasing interest rates because interest rates on the capital market have risen in recent weeks. Mortgage providers borrow cash on the capital market to then lend to prospective homebuyers.

The unrest in the Middle East led to the increase, the advisory firm said. Persistently high inflation also played a role.

However, interest rate expectations for the near future have remained unchanged. The European Central Bank (ECB) is still expected to start lowering interest rates in the eurozone from June.

This will reduce interest rates for mortgages with shorter fixed periods, from fully variable mortgages to those with a two-year fixed rate. Interest rates for mortgages with longer terms are expected to decline slightly, depending on inflation and wage developments.