There were some 92,500 requests for new mortgages in the first quarter of 2017, the mortgage lenders lobby group Hypotheeken Data Network said on Tuesday. It was the best-performing first quarter in six years, HDN added.

‘It will be interesting to see how the mortgage market develops in the rest of the year,’ said HDN director Dorine van Basten.

She points out that housing stock was shrinking. The real reason for the increase is that many people have re-mortgaged their houses in recent months at a lower interest rate and for a longer period of time, Van Basten said.

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