Around a fifth of Dutch households would rather buy than rent – or rather be in a rental than in the house they bought, according to research by De Nederlandsche Bank.

The Financieele Dagblad reports that 1.8 mn households are not living in a situation that best suits what they want.

A new survey of around 2,400 by the DNB on housing preferences has found that if the prices were the same, 56% would rather buy and 21% would rather rent. People who are under 45 and renting are most likely to want to buy, while older people in a house they own are most likely to want to rent a suitable home where they don’t have to worry about maintenance.

“Fiscal policy means that for example for older people now it is not attractive to sell their house and put that money in a savings account,” researcher Dorinth van Dijk told the FD. “Their wealth will be more heavily taxed in that case.”

In cities such as Amsterdam, housing policy is now focusing on issues such as encouraging older people to move on from family homes.

Research by Calcasa property valuation expert last week showed that Dutch homes have increased in sale price by around five times in the last 30 years.

Both the European Commission and the DNB have for a decade said the Dutch government should no longer offer mortgage interest relief, a tax perk for home owners that allows people to borrow more.

Research from the International Monetary Fund in March showed that the Netherlands has the highest average household mortgage debt in Europe, at almost three times gross income.

Although the market is apparently stabilising, house prices have fallen by 5.5% since last year after Europe’s largest price spike, in real terms, since 2017. There is a current housing shortage of around 390,000 homes, according to ABF Research.