Only 20 percent of Dutch homes affordable for average-income households
By Simone Jacobs
Buying a house in the Netherlands requires an increasing amount of savings. Homebuyers with an average income need 100.000 euros extra to secure a mortgage and can only afford 21 percent of Dutch homes.
Dutch house prices outpace incomes
In its first Housing Market Accessibility Monitor, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) determined that buying a house in the Netherlands is becoming increasingly out of reach for many. While 10 years ago, a household with an average income could afford 61 percent of homes, this dropped to just 21 percent in 2024.
The average price of an owner-occupied house in 2024 was around 451.000 euros, leaving average-income households 100.000 euros short for a mortgage. According to NOS, housing prices rising faster than incomes is the reason behind this.
"Accessibility for people with average incomes has decreased in all regions,” CPB programme leader Emile Cammeraat told NOS. “The problems are greatest in the major cities. There, the accessibility of owner-occupied housing has dropped to 18 percent. In Amsterdam and Utrecht, it's even lower."
Singles and first-time buyers struggle to get on property ladder
This is even more of a problem for single-income households or first-time buyers with lower incomes, especially as you need at least twice the modal income to get a mortgage for the average house.
"Single-person households with an average income can only buy 2 percent of the available homes," said Cammeraat. Often, this group needs a large amount of savings, home equity or financial support from family in order to afford a home.
The housing shortage and high tax benefits for homeowners are fueling the rising prices of homes in the Netherlands. CPB suggests building more homes, making it easier to subdivide existing homes and reducing the homeowner tax relief as solutions for this.
However, the coalition agreement of the new government states plans to keep the mortgage interest deduction in place, so that suggestion might not be implemented.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more