Willem (44): ‘This also cost us money’
They were one of the buyers of a new-build house in Slingerbos, the new neighborhood to be built in Huissen that is to become ‘one large landscape park’ with sixty homes, as stated on the site. Beautiful houses with a ‘charming 1930s look’, beautiful furnishings. Sustainable, with a heat pump and solar panels. And the beautiful location of the neighborhood.
All this attracted Willem, a born and bred resident of Huissen, and his partner.
But last autumn things changed on the housing market. Increased mortgage interest rates, higher construction costs and low consumer confidence brought sales of new-build homes to a complete standstill. There were few buyers for the expensive houses. Result: no new-build house for the 44-year-old Huissen resident, the purchase contract he had already signed was canceled and the developer pulled out. “It’s a shame,” he says. “Because this also cost us money.”
Stelis Vastgoedontwikkeling, the developer, then went back to the drawing board to downsize the homes, read: make them more affordable. The houses are now slightly smaller, chimneys have been erased, because they have no function whatsoever in the gas-free houses. The dormer windows have also been removed, as have the garages. The result: new-build homes that have become up to 75,000 to 100,000 cheaper. The reduced houses have been for sale again since October 2. The 44-year-old Huissen resident has also taken an option on a plot. “We still want to go for it.”
Fear of another disappointment? Not with the developer, because he is confident that Slingerbos will now get off the starting blocks. “In a month, all new-build houses will be sold,” says Anky van Wijk, co-director of Stelis Vastgoedontwikkeling.
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Eric (69): ‘Beautiful house but an empty wallet’
Eric and his partner from Nijmegen are exactly on the other end of the line. The developer continues, but the Nijmegen couple ultimately did not dare to take the step. There was a whole process before that.
Because they were already ‘well on their way’ to buying one of the 68 new-build houses in Kops Kwartier, a new neighborhood that was designed on the Berg en Dalseweg in Nijmegen-Oost. It is the story of feeling and reason, says Eric, because the 69-year-old Nijmegen resident and his partner are not getting any younger, they want to look ahead.
“We live beautifully in the center of Nijmegen, for many years. But our house has four floors, lots of stairs. At Kops Kwartier we saw a penthouse, an age-resistant house.” It had to cost 8.5 tons, so they did the math. With a new bathroom and kitchen, the house would cost more than 1 million euros.
But uncertainties crept in when mortgage rates rose last autumn and house prices fell at the same time. Because what would their beautiful house in the heart of Nijmegen yield? “The intention was to be able to cross with closed markets.” And then they would also have to deal with a bridging loan of 6 percent. “In the end we didn’t dare. We would be in a nice penthouse, but with an empty wallet.”
By the way, that beautiful penthouse is still a long way off. The 68 town homes and apartments at Kops Kwartier have been for sale for almost a year. The prices are not cheap. The apartments cost between 475,000 euros and 1.1 million; the price of a city home is between 770,000 and 975,000 euros. Construction of the new neighborhood will start when 70 percent of the houses have been sold. It hasn’t gotten that far yet. Of the 68 homes, 13 have now been sold; Potential buyers have taken an option on 25 homes.
For privacy reasons, the interviewees are referred to only by their first names. Their full name is known to the editors.