Cabinet's plans will put new homes further out of reach for first-time buyers: VEH

The outgoing Cabinet’s plans could make owner-occupied homes far too expensive for first-time buyers, said the homeowners association VEH. The association wants regional agreements on building more affordable housing.

Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing) announced this week that the affordability limit for newly built homes will increase by 10 percent next year to 390,000 euros. VEH believes this limit is much too high because incomes will only rise by an average of 5.8 percent this year. First-time buyers and people with average incomes, “such as teachers, nurses, and care providers,” will soon no longer have any prospects for an affordable, newly-built home, the association said.

The height of the affordability limit is significant because the Minister wants at least two-thirds of the 900,000 new homes to be built by 2030 to fall into the “affordable” category. But for many home seekers with average incomes, a newly built home costing 390,000 euros is far too expensive, said VEH. “To buy such a house, a joint income of at least 83,000 euros is required, which is more than twice the average income of 40,000 euros.”

This year, the affordability limit for a newly built home was 355,000 euros. The association thinks this limit should remain unchanged in 2024 and that income development should, from now on, become the standard for future adjustments to the affordability limit.