Inheritance wave will increase housing inequality, experts warn

A wave of inheritances over the next decade is set to drive up house prices in the Netherlands even further, a report by financial experts has said.

An estimated €300 billion will be passed on by the baby-boomer generation between 2024 and 2023, much of which will be reinvested in property, according to financial advice agency Van Bruggen.

Mortgage expert Oscar Noorlag warned that the transfer of wealth would increase inequality, as the benefits will be mainly felt by the richest households, many of whom are already homeowners.

The cash will allow them to move up the ladder or invest in a suitable retirement home. But at the other end of the scale people living in rental properties will see their costs rise without having a substantial inheritance to fall back on.

In 2024 the richest 10% of households owned 56% of all capital wealth, while the average householder had built up a fortune of €563,000 compared to €40,400 for the average tenant.

“It’s not just income that determines what people do in the housing market,” Noorlag said. “The wealth of people’s parents and grandparents is playing an increasing role.

“But not everyone has access to that family wealth, and that income inequality is threatening to transfer to the housing market.”

Senior housing

Van Bruggen’s advice goes against the common assumption that the housing market cools off as the population ages, because older people are less likely to move up the ladder.

Since the 1970s the proportion of owner-occupied houses in the Netherlands has risen from 35% to 59%, while the 2.3 million people (12.7%) living in social rental housing generally have the lowest incomes and savings.

House prices have risen by 240% since the end of the last crash in the summer of 2013, despite a brief dip at the end of the pandemic and are still rising, although the rate has cooled from more than 10% in early 2025 to 4% last month.

Noorlag said the government needed to prioritise building senior housing so that older people could move out of the homes where they raised their children.

“When older people can move into a suitable home, more houses become available for the next generations,” he said. “That allows for more house moves that the whole market benefits from.”