Sharp increase in mortgages; Average €513,000 to buy a home

In the second half of last year, over 241,000 mortgages were taken out, 14 percent more than a year earlier, the Land Registry reported. The average mortgage amount for buying a home was €513,000, almost 8 percent higher than the previous year. “This meant the average mortgage amount exceeded €500,000 for the first time.”

The number of mortgages was almost as high as in the record period from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2022. At that time, there was an average of 256,000 mortgages per six months. This was due to the high number of refinancings caused by low mortgage interest rates.

In the second half of last year, the total amount of all mortgages amounted to €95.2 billion, the highest level since the Land Registry started tracking this figure in 2019. The mortgage amount is almost 20 percent higher than a year earlier.

The Land Registry also noted that the major banks, ING, ABN Amro, Rabobank, and ASN, in particular, issued more mortgages last year. The major banks held a share of 44.1 percent in the second half of 2025, the highest share since 2019.

Existing home prices rose by an average of 8.6 percent last year, compared to the previous year. Home prices peaked in July 2022. Prices then fell for a while, but have been rising again since June 2023. The realtors association NVM previously announced that the average home price in the last quarter of 2025 exceeded €500,000.