Affording a home almost impossible for first-time buyers without savings, help

A first home is increasingly only for first-time buyers with a lot of savings or parents wealthy enough to help, according to mortgage provider Munt Hypotheken. The average first-time buyer now has to put down 91,073 of their own money when buying a home, nearly three times more than before home prices started exploding eight years ago, the Telegraaf reports.

“The gap between first-time buyers with and without wealth is increasing rapidly,’ Munt Hypotheken director Menno Luiten told the newspaper. “That trend is unmistakable. Without support from family or a large savings balance, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain a home.”

In 2017, first-time buyers had enough to afford a home if they could put down an average of 34,805 euros out of pocket. In that same period, the average mortgage amount increased by 40 percent to over 393,000 euros.

“What we measure is the amount of the loan and the purchase price of the home,” Luiten explained. “For first-time buyers, the difference is an average of 91,073 euros. This could be savings, a gift or loan from the parents, perhaps a loan from the employer, or a combination of these.”

The average personal contribution was only higher in 2022 when first-time buyers had to put down an average of 95,691 euros. At the time, many first-time buyers had savings from the pandemic, and parents were still allowed to give their children up to 100,000 euros tax-free to help buy a home. That tax-free ton has now been abolished, and many people’s pandemic savings have evaporated during the subsequent cost of living crisis.

Home buyers over the age of 35 are also putting down more money when taking out a mortgage, according to Munt Hypotheken. This typically comes from the equity in their previous home, which has risen along with home prices. In this group, the average contribution has risen from 80,038 euros in 2017 to 203,011 euros in 2024.