Single-income households can only afford 2 percent of homes in Dutch housing market

The gap between single-earners and dual-income households in the Dutch housing market is widening, according to the mortgage advice chain De Hypotheker, based on its own research. Dutch people with a single modal income can afford just over 2 percent of the housing supply.

For dual-income households, the chances of finding a suitable home have been improving for four years in a row. The supply of affordable housing for this group has increased from 29.1 percent last year to 35.9 percent this year.

However, Dutch people with a single modal income can still hardly afford any housing. According to the researchers, just over 2 percent of the housing supply is affordable for this group. That is a small improvement compared to last year’s figure of 1.7 percent.

The mortgage organization called it striking that single-earners’ position in the housing market has hardly improved, while positive developments like rising wages and lower mortgage interest rates should work to their advantage.

Households with a single modal income have the best chance of finding an affordable home in Limburg (7 percent), Zeeland (6 percent), and Groningen (6 percent). In Flevoland, Utrecht, and Noord-Holland (0.5 percent), and Noord-Brabant (0.6 percent), homeownership is the furthest from their reach. Also in large cities, single-earners’ prospects are practically nonexistent.

For couples, the affordable housing supply has now risen to over a third. They are primarily benefiting from the wave of landlords selling their properties. According to market experts, this is the result of unfavorable tax rules and rent regulation implemented by the previous government. These were intended to protect tenants, but have instead led to a decline in the supply of rental properties.

“Due to high home prices, single-earners cannot benefit from the growing housing supply. Urgent action is needed to improve the prospects of this group of homebuyers. Examples include more smaller newly-built homes for singles and a wider range of available properties for seniors,” according to the mortgage chain.

According to De Hypotheker, seniors “often live in too large homes” because no suitable alternatives are available, causing them to occupy homes intended for dual-income couples.