News item | 07-02-2023 | 1:00 pm
To help first-time buyers find an affordable home on the market, the government wants more municipalities to deploy sales solutions. The government is also realizing a National Fund for Affordable Owner-occupied Homes with a budget of €40 million. This increases the chances of first-time buyers for an affordable owner-occupied home.
The construction and availability of affordable owner-occupied homes is under pressure, while demand for these homes is high. To help starters, municipalities can offer (starter) instruments. With the ‘sales instruments for municipalities’ guide, municipalities gain more insight into the various options they have to give starters a helping hand. Examples of such sales solutions are KoopStart (buying for a reduced sales price) or Buying to Wens (formula that can make buying a house possible for starters with a low/middle income).
National Fund for Affordable Owner-occupied Housing
In addition to the guide, the government is introducing a National Fund for Affordable Owner-occupied Homes. With the available € 40 million, the cabinet wants to help more first-time buyers with an income of up to 2 times the average to buy a home. A proportional contribution is expected from municipalities and developers who want to make use of the available resources. This extra effort is in addition to the construction of 350,000 affordable owner-occupied and medium-sized rental homes up to and including 2030, the allocation of affordable homes to people who benefit most from it, and the scheme surrounding the exemption from transfer tax for first-time buyers up to the age of 35 since 2021.
Affordable owner-occupied homes remain difficult to find
The government’s support is intended for first-time buyers who have difficulty acquiring an affordable home. This is particularly visible in regions where the demand for housing is high and the supply is tight. Although there has been a visible fall in house prices since the summer, many first-time buyers are still unable to intervene, partly due to the rise in mortgage interest.