Dutch mortgage market approaches pre-crisis levels

The mortgage market in the Netherlands is recovering to pre-financial crisis levels. In the second quarter of this year, the mortgage market reached the highest level since the outbreak of the crisis in 2008, according to figures from IG & H Consulting, ANP reports. In the second quarter of 2016 the average mortgage amounted to 258 thousand euros, the highest level since 2008. A total of 72 thousand mortgages were closed, a 21 percent increase compared to the same period last year. According to IG & H Consulting, the growth was mainly fueled by homeowners who purchased a new home last quarter. There were also many people who re-closed their mortgage due to the very low interest rates. The refinancing market increased by 43 percent compared to the second quarter last yer. The three largest banks in the Netherlands hold more than half the share of the mortgage market. In the second quarter Rabobank and ABN Amro had the largest share of the market. Florius, Lloyds Bank and Aegon were the biggest risers on the market. ING gave up 1.7 percent of its share of the mortgage market.