Only 1,000 homes are affordable for average single earners in the Netherlands

Friday, 21 August 2026 - 09:04

Anyone wanting to buy a home in the Netherlands had better have a partner who also earns an income, or their own money to put forward. As a single buyer without savings and an average income, you can afford only about 1,000 of the 85,000 homes currently listed on the real estate website Funda, AD reported, based on research by De Hypotheker.

With an average single income of €48,000 gross per year, you can get a mortgage of €213,500 at the current interest rate. Around 1,000 homes on Funda are listed for that amount or less.

The supply of homes has grown compared to last year, but not for people with an average income, the research shows. Around this time last year, average single-income earners could afford about 1,500 of the around 75,000 homes available on Funda.

What makes this extra striking is that many of the 10,000 extra homes this year are former rental properties. These are often smaller, cheaper apartments affected by rent regulation in the middle segment, and their lower prices have been pressuring Dutch home price increases since 2024. But even they are not cheap enough for average single-income earners.

In over 200 of the 342 Dutch municipalities, single persons earning an average income can’t buy a home. Remarkably, Amsterdam is one of the just over 100 Dutch municipalities where an average single-income earner can still afford a home, as long as they are happy with less than 34 square meters outside the ring road.

A quarter of the affordable homes are located in Limburg. There you also get more square meters for your money. A 180 square meter home in Eygelshoven is listed for €199,000. And a 134 square meter home in Kerkrade recently sold for €175,000.

Home seekers with a partner who also has an income are more in luck. A combined gross income of €88,000 per year can get a mortgage of around €406,000. Currently, there are over 27,000 homes on Funda listed for that amount or less.

On the other side of the coin, about 7,700 homes on the housing site are listed for over €1 million.