The average mortgage taken out by clients of the Hypotheker advisory group was up 4% in July when compared to last year which is another indication that the market may be turning, the company said on Friday.

The July figure of €321,818 is the highest since April 2022 when the downturn started, the Hypotheker said. The group has around 180 offices nationwide.  

Despite higher interest rates, the supply of properties rose by 29% in the third quarter as more rental properties were sold off and higher transfer tax for investors reduced competition. 

The company also reported a 12% increase in mortgage requests in the first quarter compared with the last three months of 2022 and a 17% rise in the second quarter.

First-time buyers now have a better chance of a home, commercial director Menno Luiten said. “They are benefiting from more supply and they can borrow more because of wage rises… but there is still reason for caution because of the major shortage of properties.” 

The increase in mortgage loans among Hypotheker customers was highest in Flevoland, at 17%. 

House prices in the Netherlands rose a marginal 0.2% in June when compared with May, but were down 5.5% on a year ago, national statistics agency CBS said last month.

The figures are based on completed transactions and lag earlier statistics provided by estate agents. The NVM estate agents organisation said in July that quarterly sales prices had actually risen 2.8% in the period April to end June, based on transactions by its members.

House prices had been falling steadily since August 2022, when soaring interest rates really started to have an impact.