Single income households earning median salaries of €37,000 will find it almost impossible to buy a house anywhere in the Netherlands unless they have substantial savings, according to new research by mortgage comparison websitde De Hypotheker.

Just 4.3% of the properties currently on the market cost less than €150,000 – which is around the maximum which can be borrowed on an median salary. Last year, 7.5% of homes for sale cost less than that figure.

‘It is dire,’ Hypotheker commercial director Menno Luiten said. The continuing rise in house prices means more ‘ordinary Dutch people’, who work in healthcare and education, are finding it impossible to buy a home, he said.

Would-be home buyers with average incomes have the best choice of homes in Groningen and Zeeland, while Utrecht and Noord-Brabant are almost impossible.

The situation has also worsened for double income households with twice the median salary. Properties costing under €300,000 now account for 38% of the total, compared with 46% last year.