Mortgage interest rates rise slightly after months of decline

The decrease in mortgage interest rates seems to be at an end. The largest independent mortgage advice organization in the Netherlands, De Hypotheekshop, has seen that many providers have raised their fees this week, ending a drop that had been ongoing since June.

The reason for the increase is that it has become more expensive for lenders to borrow on the capital market due to the expectation that the US central bank Federal Reserve will not lower its interest rate much further for the time being.

Interest rate cuts of the central banks in Europe and the United States caused lower mortgage rates in the Netherlands in the last few months. The rate for a ten-year fixed-rate loan with NHG, the most popular fixed-rate option, fell by one percentage point in a year to 3.6 percent. As a result, this interest rate is now back at the lower levels last seen in 2022, which had not yet occurred this year. De Hypotheekshop expects the interest rate to remain around this level for the time being.

Mortgages with a shorter or variable term will become somewhat cheaper. This is because they are linked to the interest rate of the European Central Bank, which has fallen considerably in the past six months.

"This is particularly beneficial for those moving up the property ladder, who often use temporary bridging financing. These interest rates have now fallen from an average of almost 6 percent to below 5 percent, with further declines possible," according to advisor De Hypotheekshop.