House prices

In 2018, prices of new-build homes in the Netherlands rose by 13 percent. The increase was only higher in Slovenia. Around the EU, house prices show erratic and diverse developments. How many Europeans are homeowners and how many of them have mortgage debts?

Both in the Netherlands and around Europe, property price trends have been erratic over the past decade. The 2008 financial crisis resonated on the Dutch property market for a long time. Following price drops of up to 20 percent in 2012–2013, house prices in the Netherlands bounced back relatively quickly. In 2018, the Dutch house price index was over 4 percent up on 2008.

Across the European Union, house prices were on average 12 percent up on 2008 but showed major differences. In some countries, house prices showed little or no decline, but a steady rise. Sweden saw the sharpest rise in house prices at over 70 percent. In eleven countries, 2018 prices were below pre-crisis level. The furthest below that level was Spain, where prices were down by over 19 percent relative to 2008.

Home ownership rates

Nearly 70 percent of the Dutch population live in owner-occupied homes. This puts the Netherlands at the bottom of the ranking in the European Union. Home ownership rates are particularly high in the former Eastern Bloc countries but relatively low in the (larger) countries of Western Europe.

Of all EU countries, the Netherlands has the highest share of homeowners with a mortgage or loan on their house. Sweden and Denmark, too, have relatively many homeowners with mortgage debt. In most other EU countries, the share of owner-occupied homes encumbered with a mortgage is half that in the Netherlands. In Romania, for example, nearly all homes are owner-occupied. The vast majority are mortgage-free.

Sources

Eurostat – House price index

Eurostat – Housing statistics