Mortgage applications up dramatically

People in the Netherlands applied for nearly 41,500 mortgages in the first quarter of the year, up more than 50 percent compared to the same period in 2013. The number is down when compared to October-December, not entirely unexpected due to the seasonality of home purchases in the country. “The first quarter of this year shows a nice build-up in the number of applications,” said Hypotheken Data Netwerk (HDN) director Dorine van Basten. The mortgage firm manager told newspaper AD that 12,000 applications were filed in January, which grew to 14,000 and 15,500 in subsequent months. Mortgages were less sought after in early 2013 because of changes to laws, new regulations, and the financial crisis, Van Basten said. “The positive sentiment in the market translates into good quarterly numbers,” she noted. With an annual rush of open houses about to begin, “we hope that the upward trend will continue in the coming months.”