First-time buyers must earn 71.000 euros to afford Dutch house prices

According to calculations by one major Dutch bank, anyone hoping to get their foot on the Dutch property ladder would have to earn at least 71.000 euros a year in order to be able to afford a house in the Netherlands. 

Dutch housing market increasingly inaccessible to first-time buyers

While figures show that the housing market is finally cooling down and that house prices should fall slightly in the new year, prices on the Dutch housing market remain high, making it extremely difficult for young professionals to buy a house. 

A recent report has revealed exactly how inaccessible the housing market is: according to Rabobank, first-time buyers would have to earn a salary of at least 71.000 euros a year - almost double the national average - in order to be able to buy property. 

This marks a sharp increase compared to just a few years ago, as between 2003 and 2015, first-time buyers needed to earn approximately 40.000 euros to get their foot on the property ladder. With house prices rising at a faster rate than salaries, Rabobank points out that young people are instead dependent on rentals - which are also becoming increasingly expensive. 

Rabobank: The Netherlands must tackle housing shortage

Rabobank explains that there are a number of factors that put young people at a disadvantage. Not only has the average price of a starter home risen by 90 percent between 2003 and May 2022, but interest rates on mortgages are also rising and it has become increasingly difficult for prospective buyers to borrow money to fund the purchase of a property. Furthermore, the national housing shortage means the housing market is exceedingly competitive. 

"More new construction will not undo the price increases of the past decade, but it can return the accessibility of owner-occupied homes for first-time buyers to a level that is in line with their incomes,” Stefan Groot, an economist at Rabobank, told NU.