The Dutch mortgage market shrunk 14% in the first three months of this year, when compared to the same period in 2018, consultancy IG&H said in its latest quarterly report.

The number of people switching mortgage also fell, although the average amount borrowed continues to rise.

In total, mortgage providers extended almost 69,000 mortgages with total value of €22bn in the first quarter of 2019. The average mortgage taken out was €316,000, a rise of 5.2% on a year ago.

The drop is the biggest since 2013 and is due to the overheated housing market plus the problems facing first-time buyers, IG&H said.