First-time buyers dominate housing market in major Dutch cities as investor sales surge

First-time homebuyers purchased more than half of all homes sold in the Netherlands in the first quarter of this year, with their dominance rising to nearly two-thirds in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague, according to new data from the Kadaster. The trend comes amid a sharp increase in available properties due to investor sell-offs and changes in housing legislation.

Between January and March, 23,000 homes were sold to first-time buyers, marking a 17 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Of the approximately 51,500 homes sold nationwide in that timeframe, 45 percent went to first-time purchasers.

The share was significantly higher in the four largest Dutch cities, where 62 percent of all housing transactions involved first-time buyers. In the next tier of large municipalities, the figure was roughly 50 percent.

Real estate agent Dagmar Daae noted that despite the increase in sales, the market remains highly competitive for newcomers. "The competition among first-time buyers is still intense," she told NOS.

The shift in the housing market is largely attributed to the exit of private investors, who are offloading smaller, lower-priced units—especially in larger cities. These apartments, which are typically more affordable and compact, match the preferences and financial range of many first-time buyers.

The investor sell-off has been triggered by recent legislative changes. A law passed last year to regulate affordable rents, along with a ban on temporary rental contracts, allegedly made investment properties less attractive. In response to concerns about reduced rental supply, the housing minister has proposed easing the rules, including reducing the number of homes subject to rent caps and allowing home value to be included in rent calculations. However, the details of the revised policy remain unclear.

Though many of the properties purchased were considered more affordable, the average price paid by first-time buyers reached 385,000 euros in the first quarter—up 6 percent from a year earlier. For all buyers, the national average home price was 470,000 euros, a 9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Housing systems professor Peter Boelhouwer of TU Delft warned that wealth inequality is becoming a defining feature of the housing market. "There is increasingly a class-based society emerging," he said to NOS. "Parents with owner-occupied homes are leading to children who will also own homes."

He added that success for first-time buyers now depends heavily on access to money. "This is bad news for people earning just above the social housing income limit," Boelhouwer said.

Boelhouwer pointed to the growing influence of intergenerational wealth in determining who can enter the market. "The trend is coming over from England: the phenomenon of intergenerational homeownership is becoming stronger."

Despite the abolition of the so-called 'jubelton'—a tax-free gift option formerly used to help children buy homes—financial help from family remains widespread. Boelhouwer said that even though more homes are available, the odds of success for first-time buyers improve significantly only when they receive financial support, such as family gifts or family-backed mortgages. "The question is whether that is something society should be happy about," he added.

A spokesperson for mortgage advisor De Hypotheker echoed this view. "At the moment, we see that first-time buyers are dominating the housing market," the spokesperson said. In the first quarter, first-time buyers accounted for more than half of all mortgage applications, a 23 percent year-on-year increase.

While first-time buyers are generally under the age of 35, a growing number are older. In 37 percent of cases, buyers were between 35 and 45 years old when purchasing their first home.

According to De Hypotheker, the increased turnover of investor-owned properties has helped bolster the supply of homes that fall within the first-time buyer segment. Rising salaries and still-lower mortgage interest rates have also made it easier for new buyers to qualify for loans.

Additional support has reportedly come from policy changes, including an increase in the cap for the National Mortgage Guarantee to 450,000 euros and an exemption from transfer tax for buyers under 35 purchasing homes worth up to 525,000 euros.

Kadaster housing market expert Matthieu Zuidema noted it is surprising that the number of home sales continues to rise. "Uncertainty in the global economy and falling consumer confidence usually have a negative effect on the housing market," he told NOS. "It will be interesting to see what this means for home prices in the near future."