More young people buy first home as Dutch landlords sell off rental properties
By Simone Jacobs
Young people in the Netherlands have benefited from the spike in rental homes on the market. The number of first-time buyers in their 20s and 30s has significantly increased in the past few months.
Rising number of Dutch homes sold to buyers under 25
The latest Mortgage Index from mortgage adviser De Hypotheker has revealed that first-time buyers are dominating the Dutch housing market, with 53 percent of all mortgage applications belonging to this group. Despite house prices going up 6 percent in November, there were still more people buying homes in the last quarter of 2025, up 12 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
Young people under the age of 25 are increasingly buying their first homes. 11 percent of all first-time mortgage applications were from this age group, more than double the 4 percent a year ago. First-time homebuyers under the age of 35 also rose by 24 percent.
Young first-time homebuyers benefit from rental home sell off
These figures might come as a surprise to many, considering that starters often need over 90.000 euros in savings to afford a Dutch home or their parents’ help to afford a mortgage. "It's a remarkable development," commercial director of De Hypotheker, Mark de Rijke, told AD. "But if you look at how it happened, it makes sense. The sale of rental properties, especially in the more affordable segment, means more first-time buyers are becoming eligible."
New rent regulations, such as the Affordable Rent Act, have caused many landlords to sell off their rental properties. First-time buyers have been able to benefit from this, especially when it comes to smaller, more affordable homes.
More starters buy first home independently
2 in 5 first-time buyers under 25 bought a home independently between the months of October and December. This is 9 percent more than a year before.
"We do see that many first-time buyers are helped by parents or grandparents with a family mortgage or other support," says De Rijke. The average mortgage amount for Q4 of 2025 wasn’t much higher than in previous periods at 360.000 euros.
"The fourth-quarter figures show that young homebuyers - particularly those under 25 - remain very active in the housing market. They benefit from increased supply in the first-time buyer segment and improved purchasing power, allowing them to increasingly purchase their first home independently," says De Rijke.
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
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