Half of the Homebuyers Younger Than 35 Years Old

According to mortgage advice chain De Hypotheker, 25 to 35-years olds formed the largest group of homebuyers in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2017, followed by the 35 to 45-years olds. Relatively few buyers were younger than 25 years old. This reflects a long-standing issue in the Netherlands, of the difficulty of buying property for new homebuyers. Although in comparison to 2016, the share of homebuyers younger than 25 years old increased, scarcity on the housing market as well as rising prices still mean that the young Dutch have to wait longer to buy their first house. Add to this a new law that only allows a mortgage of 101 percent of the property's market value, and it shows why in the first quarter of 2017, the majority of the homebuyers were existing homeowners purchasing new property.