Kim (22) from Eindhoven and her boyfriend Joost (23) would like nothing more than to buy their first house together. They both earn an average income, but are unable to make it on the housing market. “We are falling between two stools.”
Kim Smits from Eindhoven works at a holiday park. She still lives at home with her parents. Together with her boyfriend Joost, who works in the military, she has been looking for a house to live together for some time now. “Until now, we’ve looked at two houses a month,” she says.
“It’s difficult,” Kim says. “If you respond to a house, it often turns out that it has already been sold. And if you are allowed to come and have a look, you have to decide very quickly whether you want to make an offer. Sometimes the same day. That’s difficult. Because my friend’s work means he can’t always come along.”
“I hope that house prices will start to fall again.”
The couple is looking for a house somewhere between 240,000 and 250,000 euros. “There are houses for that, but a lot has to be done about it,” says Kim. They search a wide area. “Somewhere around Uden, Tilburg, Den Bosch up to Hapert. We look everywhere.”
It frustrates Kim that it is so difficult. “Yes, especially for beginners it is really difficult, especially with our age. We may have a good income, but you can’t do anything with it. And we really want to. We’ve been together for three years now and really want to live together. But you’re stuck now. You cannot make plans for the future. Because that plan is first a house. That’s not there yet. You just can’t look any further.”
“Would be nice if we had our own place.”
Kim therefore hopes that the housing market will change. “I hope that house prices will go down a bit. But I think that’s asking too much. Now it feels like our lives are a bit stuck. It would be so nice if we had our own place.”
Are you also stuck in the housing market and do you want to share your story with us? Are you unable to find something or are you no longer able to pay your housing costs? Then send an email to [email protected].