More young people managing to buy their own home: Mortgage applications up 169%

Young first-time buyers are increasingly able to buy their first home. In the last quarter of 2025, the number of mortgage applications from this group was 169 percent higher than in the same period in 2024, according to De Hypotheker.

The fact that the number of applications from young first-time buyers under 25 has more than doubled is due to a larger supply of starter homes and improved purchasing power, De Hypotheker reported based on its own figures.

Two in five young first-time buyers are buying their first home with only their own income, without a partner, said Mark de Rijke, De Hypotheker’s commercial director. This represents a 9 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

The total number of mortgage applications also increased, despite rising house prices. In the last three months of last year, there were 15 percent more mortgage applications than in the same time in 2024. The rising number of applications is mainly driven by young homebuyers under 35. Applications from this group increased by 24 percent.

First-time buyers accounted for over half, 53 percent, of all mortgage applications. The remaining applications came from those moving up the property ladder. Within the group of first-time buyers, the share of young first-time buyers is increasing. According to De Hypotheker, they accounted for 11 percent of all applications for a first home in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the same period in 2024, this was still 4 percent.

The average mortgage amount in the fourth quarter of 2025 was approximately €360,000. This is 2 percent more than a year earlier, but the lowest increase of the past year. This is a consequence of the growing supply of cheaper former rental properties on the owner-occupied market, according to De Hypotheker.

The number of mortgage applications for home improvements is declining, after having increased for several quarters. According to De Hypotheker, this is due to uncertainty about sustainability regulations and other new regulations. As a result, homeowners are less willing to make their homes more sustainable or improve them. “That is worrying, because sustainability and renovation are important to make the existing housing stock future-proof,” said De Rijke.