Mortgage lenders have had a record year in several respects. In 2025, the number of mortgage applications via the Mortgage Data Network (HDN) increased by 16.5 percent compared to the previous year. Although growth is leveling off, loans were again higher than a year ago; With an average of 373,000 euros, the average mortgage amount was 3.7 percent higher than in 2024.
HDN, which publishes these figures on Tuesday, registers almost all mortgages in the Netherlands and thus has a good picture of the Dutch mortgage market.
Just under half of the mortgages were applied for by first-time buyers for the purchase of their first home. What is striking, according to HDN, is that their financial position deteriorated last year. There are fewer and fewer homes left with a purchase price of up to €300,000. In 2024, one in four homes would still fall under this category, compared to one in five last year.
In order to have more choice, first-time buyers choose homes with a lower energy label, according to HDN. First-time buyers also have to go deeper into debt for a home; they borrowed more than 5 percent more compared to their income in 2025 than a year earlier. As a starter you also needed more money to buy a home – on average this was an amount of 45,000 euros.
People moving on and refinancing are much less affected by this because they benefit from the excess value of the home they are selling. HDN director Reinier van der Heijden, explaining the figures, speaks of “a growing gap” in the housing market:
“First-time buyers are increasingly having difficulty finding affordable housing and have to do everything they can financially. While move-up buyers and retirees are increasingly using their housing assets. This contrast increasingly determines the dynamics of the mortgage market.”
Prices of owner-occupied homes
HDN distinguishes between two types of loans. Firstly, the mortgages that are taken out for the purchase of a home. Secondly, the loans for refinancing or increasing an existing mortgage, or that are taken out for another purpose. The first category grew again compared to the second; More than six in ten mortgage loans are now intended for a home purchase. Of all non-purchaser mortgages, it is striking that retirees and remortgages in particular took out many mortgages. One in three loan parts of these mortgages, on average around 70,000 euros, is used for donations or ‘consumer expenditure’.
HDN’s figures also provide an insight into the market for owner-occupied homes. According to the network, the average home value increased by 4.9 percent to 512,000 euros in 2025. The prices are also highest in the province of Utrecht. And growth in the Amsterdam region is leveling off. The highest value increases are visible in provinces outside the Randstad, for example in Drenthe, Friesland and Limburg. Later this week, the real estate agency NVM will present annual figures based on the transactions that real estate agents carried out.
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Record year for mortgage providers: 16.5 percent more applications, mortgage amount 373,000 euros
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