Buying a home in NL basically too expensive for Average Joe

Buying an affordable home in the Netherlands as a one-income household with an average income of 36,500 euros per year has become nearly impossible. Only 4.7 percent of homes on the market this year are affordable to an Average Joe - a quarter less than the 6.3 percent last year, De Hypotheker reported on Thursday.

The average single earner will have an even harder time in the big cities. In Utrecht, only 1.5 percent of the available homes fall into their price range. In Eindhoven it is 1.8 percent, in Amsterdam 2 percent, in The Hague 3 percent, and in Rotterdam 5 percent. Their best chance is to go home shopping in the provinces of Groningen, where 19 percent of homes are in their price range, Drenthe (12.3 percent) or Limburg (12.2 percent).

Two income households with an average income are more likely to find a home in their price range, with 32 percent of the total housing supply being available to them. But their situation also deteriorated - last year 35 percent of available homes fell in their price range.

Groningen, Friesland and Limburg are the best provinces to go home shopping for the average two income household. Those who would rather live in a big city will have the best chance in Rotterdam, where they could afford 31 percent of available homes, followed by The Hague at 28 percent. In Amsterdam only 12 percent of available homes are in their price range.