Older Dutch more often opting for adapting homes due to housing shortage

The number of mortgage applications that people over 55 years of age have applied for in order to improve their home more than doubled at the start of this year, De Hypotheker reported. According to the mortgage advisor, these people are choosing to make their homes more sustainable or suitable for lifelong living due to the limited supply of senior housing.

De Hypotheker thinks, based on their research in the past, that over 55s are mostly looking for smaller homes suited for lifelong living. This group also prefers to live on the ground floor and in their own neighborhood.

The issue for this group is that the offering of homes is limited, De Hypotheker said. This is the reason that an increasing number of over 55s are choosing to rebuild their existing home with the help of a mortgage.

Mark de Rijk, the commercial director for De Hypotheker, has said that the scarce offering for this group has consequences for the whole housing market. “If this group of home owners start moving then this leads to more homes becoming available for different households, like first time buyers or movers,” he said. “That can then give positive impulse to the flow on the housing market.”

Despite the limited housing supply, the number of mortgage applications from people over 55-years-of-age increased during the first months of the year. According to De Hypotheker, this is party due to drop in mortgage interest rates.

The mortgage advisor also notes that this group usually has sufficient financial resources, such as savings and equity.