The WILD Dutch housing market and our home buying flop | American in the Netherlands

The Dutch housing market is overheated, making it extremely difficult or even impossible to buy a home. In this video, I share how my girlfriend and I, as a Dutch-American couple, navigated the home buying process in the Netherlands. We also talk about how and why we started our search to buy our first time, and why we ultimately decided to stop.
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I like to share my experiences of an American expat in the Netherlands. I describe both the unique and everyday aspects of Dutch culture, and life in Holland while enjoying every bit of it!
Blog website: www.dutchamericano.com
Instagram: DutchAmericano
Get in touch: [e-mail]
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[@damouze]

I think you made the best decision for this moment. Just keep in mind that the larger cities in the Netherlands are usually also the most expensive cities to live in, whether you decide to buy or to rent.

[@SimpleHappyZen]

Thank you for sharing this story, I could relate to it so much. Especially the stress, the compromises based on adrenaline and the disappointment after dreaming and hoping. It made us stop as well, and also appreciate our current place so much more. Good luck with your renting plans! 🤗

[@pixelbart]

When I bought my house in 2015 it had been on the market for over a year and I could get it for a little under the asking price. Right now, similar houses are sold in days for nearly double the price. It's madness. The buyers aren't locals, they're mostly people from the Utrecht area, which is 100km away.

[@debbienuchelmans]

So sorry to hear it didn’t go as you had hoped for. I feel even more lucky my partner and I managed to find our first owned apartment (3 bedrooms) in Amsterdam West, 5min bike ride from the city center/canals. I’ve seen my friends struggle so much (the exact same things you mentioned). ❤️

[@charlesvanderhoog7056]

You're thinking of Amsterdam? That's even more crazy than Utrecht in terms of prices and availability. Prices rise 15 to 20% on a yearly basis, I was told. So everybody buys like in the black tulip madness.

[@gerwin030]

We didn't even try to buy anything in Utrecht (where I've owned an appartment for 16 years now) but went straight to one of the towns around it. Good train-connection though and on an e-bike you can cycle to Utrecht city center in about 20 mins. Still had to overbid over 20% and we were only able to do that because of my 'overwaarde' on my current place. It is crazy. First time buyers don't have any chance.

[@idedudink5187]

im also trying to buy a house, but as a single with good pay its impossible to buy a house within budget. all these points are so recognizable

[@DutchAmericano]

Yup, it’s absolutely over the top

[@WhoStoleMyAlias]

That's probably because you are looking for too big a home, possibly even reserving space for a possible future family and not counting on her doing the same. It is also worth mentioning that as a single you are in fact part of the problem because if you'd put as many people in every home as it was meant for we'd have over 2 million homes too many. This country simply has a luxury problem and it fairly recently got worse because the government started to savour even more EU wishes to reform our housing market to become more profitable for foreign investors and at the same time become more restrictive to inhabitants. Chances are in fact extremely high that with the last elections you cast your vote to one of the political parties that actively initiated this, so you kind of did it to yourself.

[@WhoStoleMyAlias]

@@alrayyes Haha! What next depression? We're still in the previous one and we'll stay in there for as long as the Euro continues to exist. Don't mistake housing for a commodity, it is a primary necessity and as a result people will pay to the maximum for it.

[@WhoStoleMyAlias]

@@alrayyes Oh but it is not that I disagree with your views, au contraire. The point I'm making is that against all common sense there is a political drive to make this failing currency a success. Since around 75% of the population does not want to hear any of this, or believes that the alternative is worse, there is no way to fight this and the best thing to do is just play along. I did and I cut my living costs in half in less than ten years after buying a house, which was totally unexpected but you'll understand that I'm not complaining.

[@arranchace1306]

Just forget it ive been trying to buy a house as a single earner with a pretty good salary, i started looking in my 30's, i'm 52 now, Just before covid outbreak i got lucky, the coorperation that rent my house from last 25 years has put up the houses for sale, and as renter i got first choice for buying it, and at a reduced price too (little over 120k) for a 48m3 2 room appartment so i jumped on it right away, since at my age this is the last change of buying a house (57 was the limit for mer to get a mortage). I renovated the exteriour and interiour of the appartment for 50k, new kitchen, bathroom, new floor, some added luxury and alot of neglected maintance the coorperation never did even though it was their obligation to do so. Now if i put the appartment up again, i easely can get 250 to 300k for it, due its location here in Amsterdam, what i aint gonna do offcourse, my patience payed out in the end, and got a cheap appartment in one of the must sought after locations in Amsterdam, but its hard to get a apparment here, and you have to get lucky, otherwise forget it.

[@robhofkes3221]

I strongly suggest to not drop the 'voorbehoud van financiering'. As you point out it will cost you when you are not able to get if financied. Another thing is is that the morguage is not more then the evaluation of the house. So if the house is evaluated for €200.000 that is what the morguage will bez dispite of you can get more. Just to keep in mind

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

In Utrecht, Voorbehoud van financiering is too much of a hurdle to get a house quite often.

[@rabartels]

You only can drop 'voorbehoud van financiering ' if you have a lot of own money and you are sure you get the mortgage. If the property value is less then the bid value you can't get a mortgage more than that.

[@DirkieB]

I think this is the dumbest thing (Not you Rob, the banks). People are clearly paying that much so the valuations are too low. What is a house worth vs what you are paying for it? A house (anything really) is worth what the fool will pay for it, and taxateurs should just figure in this ridiculous overbidding game. If you were to decide to sell it again, you absolutely would (in current market which shows no signs of slowing down) get the same money back. The game is so rigged and it's still going. Makes no sense whatsoever.

[@xFD2x]

@@DirkieB Quote: "A house (anything really) is worth what the fool will pay for it," Only when there is an abundance of fools !

[@akademininmimar7234]

thank you very much for sharing your experience! we had the similar one! honestly, we were pretty down, and kinda felt like failure. for now stopped looking at least for a while, and we are happy to enjoy the moment!

[@bibinbabu330]

Thank you for sharing your story, it helped me understand the experience of buying a house in NL as I am an expat here and everything is greek to me. Loved the last note you read my mind :)... Count the blessing of today and not worry excessively about future.. Wish you all the best and hope you both find your dream home soon.

[@leontinereitsma915]

Beautiful lesson: enjoy what you have and live in the present moment. The rest will follow ...for sure!

[@DutchAmericano]

Thanks, Leo! ❤️

[@spaceforthesoul6286]

🍀

[@dapoussin]

Well that's a shitty advice, nobody will build your future except yourself. Take this failure as a lesson, reassess, then search for your home again :)

[@Depipro]

Both Amsterdam and Utrecht have long had the reputation of being the worst two cities in the country (and among the worst in Europe) in terms of finding a house.

[@jackhal1]

But the rest of the Netherlands is also pretty bad

[@AnnieBellet]

This is exactly what happened to us in Den Haag. The market is wild right now. We ended up giving up for now on owning a place and fortunately found a super great rental that is basically our dream place in many ways, so it worked out. Fingers crossed it'll work out for you as well!

[@Kaskaderka016]

This summer I've been trying to find a room to rent in Leiden and it was impossible. I don't even know how many times I cried in the process. One time after I already told the landlord that I'm taking the room 2-3h after I visited it and he sent me the agreement to read (late evening), he managed to already rent the room to someone else who already paid the deposit before I got back to him the very next day ready to sign (late morning). I've sent hundreds (not even exaggerating) messages asking for listed rooms and I got any type of answer only from maybe 3-5% of them, only got to visit 3 rooms and all of them were taken by someone else in the end. It's so crazy! Many students who come to study here don't even find housing at all. Many people is forced to cancel their exchanges here because there is literally no place to live. It's awful.

[@lucasrem]

just buy a house, resell it for more you payed for!

[@Nynke_K]

Poor you, good luck!

[@tom.jacobs]

Housing-market in the Netherlands is overheated like crazy: and I can imagine (if you are pretty content in where you live now) to step out for now. There is no check-balance anymore, and none of the people you gather around you, are aiming for the lowest price (municipalities, banks, and real estates agents all profit from higher prices) and you are squeezed from your last penny for a place that is so-so. I was lucky enough to buy 8 years ago [in Utrecht from a housing association, without a realtor for myself: even underbidding at that time], and the value is almost tripled in those years: not realistic, a total bubble of money. When C19 happened I (like many) was kind of expecting that it would burst, but it went on (the bubble even got bigger). It's sad to see that people can't get a decent house, but with negative interest and a world with too much money laying around it looks like investors are making the profit, while full neighborhoods turn into slot machines for the owners, flipping normal houses into 1 sleeping room apartments to maximize profit. In meantime, a house is getting so expensive that an average working couple doesn't stand a chance against them. Hope you two will find a nice (rent) home for now, and that a planned increase in building houses [or new town] will somehow relax this market because at this moment it is frustrating..

[@TheSimArchitect]

You put the current situation very well! Negative interests and too much money in the market desperate for any kind of profitable allocation. Houses in Ridderkerk seem to be going up about 10% a year, that's just insane! Is it too hard / expensive to buy a plot of land and build something on it, or even worse? Glad you already have your own place, I wonder when people will start selling / taking their profits, or if inflation will just keep going on for another 20 years...

[@fhkremer]

I'm sorry that both of you had to put your dream on hold, but I think you're making the right choice for now. The current market is (obviously) fuelled by the huge shortage. 1st time home owners are pretty much screwed, especially in places like Utrecht / Amsterdam. As an alternative, you might want to try (temporarily) renting in places with good connections to Utrecht/Ams, to get a feel whether that is a possible fit for you both; if it does you can at least broaden your search area.

[@Erika1965]

Love your decision to stop looking. I was very lucky to buy 10 yrs ago when the market was completely the opposite. It's crazy now.

[@rgfrank1668]

Without trying to sound condescending, trying to find a place to buy in Utrecht within reasonable distance to the central station is a TALL order. Pretty much every place in de 'Randstad' and surroundings are ''overheated'' to a degree that the Dutch housing market has not seen in decades. Although it mind sound like a dealbreaker try to vision yourself in one of the smaller cities surrounding Utrecht, otherwise just tap out or you're going to pay way... way over the actual value. This bubble wil burst, maybe not in a spectaculair way but it wil deflate and afterwards u are setup with a high mortgage

[@miafey61]

Is it a long term thing or a temporary thing? I'm relocating to the Netherlands (not Utrecht tho, prefer smaller places) and thinking of buying but this video frightened me a bit. :)

[@rgfrank1668]

@@miafey61 I honestly can't say, I would have thought that we would hit a ceeling months ago but prices continue to rise. If u stil want to buy don't buy in Amsterdam or the Randstad price risings over there have been ridiculous as Eva also mentioned. If u are imigrating then perhaps buy (if that is in your possibilities) if u are only staying max 5 years or so I would advice to just rent. If u have more questions I can go into more detail.

[@miafey61]

@@rgfrank1668 many thanks. I will def stay away from big cities. I was thinking of buying as i have two cats and it might be difficult renting with cats (at least its so in the uk)

[@rgfrank1668]

@@miafey61 cats are usually not a problem just check with any possible landlord, dogs are more of a problem (difference is stupid in my opinion). The biggest issue that I can think of is Brexit but that is a legal aspect of which I have next to no knowledge. Good luck with finding a place go live :)

[@miafey61]

@@rgfrank1668 thanks! Fingers crossed 😊

[@TheSimArchitect]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I was really hoping to be able to buy a house, since prices seem to be raising about 10% a year (at least here in Ridderkerk) but hearing about your experience makes me wonder if that would be possible, at all. Maybe we'll have to wait a couple of years in hopes something happens to make our lives easier...? I wish you get a great deal if you want to move, or that you find a way to make your current place work better for you.

[@oetgaol]

Congrats on making a smart decision for now. I hope the housing market will cool down soon.

[@patrick71994]

In Utrecht within 15 minutes of cycling distance of the central station. Yep... Good luck with that. Red flags: "you need an 'aankoopmakelaar' before we take you serious", huge overbiddings and the biggest most red flag: dropping 'voorbehoud financiering'. Conclusion: don't buy a house in Utrecht.

[@BarjanTube]

Too bad it's true for many places in the Netherlands currently. We've tried to buy anywhere 30 to 45 minutes by train from Utrecht... Stressful indeed. Unsuccessful so far because we don't have a house to sell or a heap of money lying around to go along with overbidding indeed.

[@codex4046]

To be fair this is the case in The Netherlands as a whole. I'm from the Randstad but was looking in Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe And Overijssel as well, but have the same issues there.

[@ivo215]

Yes, the market is completely crazy right now. So much so that a home owner like myself couldn't move if I wanted to. I can't get a new place, so I can't sell my old place. This means less houses come onto the market, feuling the problem even further. Forget Utrecht. Maybe Oost Groningen ...

[@MichaelRozie]

@@codex4046 I went from Rotterdam 80m2 apartement to Gelderland 130m2 house I pay the same per month and my house is now like 50k more than when I bought it two years ago People are fleeing the cities due to working from home. Prices here spike now

[@__Wanderer]

Housing market in the Netherlands is absolutely sick. The dutch Gov. is completely incompetent in its complete inaction. 3 years of back to back 20% house price appreciation will destroy the future of the netherlands. Young generations, that were already priced out, now don't stand a chance. The number of children born will drop off a cliff and they are setting dutch society up for a demographic implosion. People can not raise kids in tiny apartments. The average income in NL is 36k euros, after tax 28k. After 1k rent + 700euro in transport/food/clothes/health insurance costs that leaves about 7-8k savings max per year for an individual. This without going on holidays / buying the occasional expensive item such as laptop/phone or going out. House prices are going up 6k A MONTH. The system is broken.

[@sandyruitenberg2928]

I know my husband and I are lucky! He bought a patch of land around 6 years ago, which still had a pigstable on it. In the past years we have lived first 3 years at home and then in a caravan. In that time my husband drew the house himself with some help from his uncles who are in the building business. We put the stable down, got the permit to build the house. We are now putting the finishing touches to our big house in the country side and we just started living in it a few weeks ago! It is just amazing that we have done this, while being young, especially looking at the house prices right now!

[@bobosims1848]

Hi Ava, interesting share! I think that buying a home in any part of 'de Randstad', especially in the bigger cities, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht and a few others, is EXPENSIVE. Especially in a crazy market where everyone and their dogs are doing it. Anyway, this may not have ended up the overwhelming success that you guys might have hoped for, but at least you've collected some experience with the process. In a while, while not actually looking for it, you may suddenly run into an unexpected opportunity and be able to quickly seize it as a result of what you learned in the past six months. Who knows?

[@cristakampert8740]

So sad to hear! All my good friends have bought a house in the past year, but around Groningen/Assen and in Brabant, that market is crazy and some of my friends also really needed a realtor (that also really helped them with not overbidding to much) but I have not heard they could not view a house without a realtor, only that they had to be really fast. And sometimes they were not able to go to the viewing together... With your story, I think it is a good decision to stop the search for now. The market cannot stay this crazy forever. I hope you will find your dreamplace in the end!

[@gordonwallin2368]

Very well described-good job.

[@carmie_bas]

This was so informative thank you!

[@joycek93]

I bought my apartment earlier this year! Interested in your story 😁

[@marcelvos6690]

Things can change quite rapidly. I bought my first house in Rotterdam in 2014, mind you I am 64 now. In 2014 I received a reduction/bonus of 10,000 euro because they couldn't get the place sold. I even took my time, waited a week to have a viewing for the second time. A threeroom appartement, near the city centre. The same place does at least 270,000 now, overbidding not included. Complete madness.

[@NiinaW]

My parents are buying a home in the citycentre of Utrecht but dont need an realator. I have bought my house 3 years ago in a town close to Utrecht and also didn't need a realtor. The problem in the netherlands right now is mostly that a lot of parents help out their children buy a home giving starters the possibility to bid way more then then the asking price. Its currently normal to bid more then a ton of the asking price. Also try to get an appointment to view as soon as possible because (My parents do that) you can place a bid during your viewing and then the viewings have to be stopped... I am so happy I have a place and won't move for at least 2 of 3 gears

[@charlesvanderhoog7056]

To me, this is the best vid you made so far because it is so real and you were showing wisdom in the end.

[@jan-willemgoedmakers3430]

Hi Ava, house prices are going down and maybe, just maybe, now is a time to start looking around again.

[@varunr3943]

Well I can totally relate to your experience when i was busy in my house search for renting a place in Amsterdam. It is really exhausting and frustating because of too high demand and low supply. I was bidding higher but always my offer was rejected. It is mentally and emotionally draining. However, I finally got a place after 2 months, 24 viewings, endless frustation in the centre of Amsterdam.

[@hzaagman8005]

I'm on the opposite side of this equation right now, being in the process of selling a house. But you're right that the housing market here in the Netherlands is absolutely crazy!

[@babylon84vn]

I feel you. It s been 2 months now, sometimes i start asking myself, maybe there is something wrong with me. Thank you for sharing

[@cizlerable]

Yep, the market is nuts. I just checked a similar appartment in the building I live in on Funda. The asking price was €45.000 higher than the asking price of my appartment a year ago. That's around a 20% increase...

[@youteacher78]

Consider Almere, it's close to both Amsterdam and Utrecht. I lived there for 7 years and it's really nice if you're in to the outdoors and like modern architecture. Also friends of me just bought a house very easily in Bennekom, not to far from Utrecht either. And just wait for the next financial collapse which surely will come within five years.

[@goodluck1070]

thanks for the video! very useful for me. the market is insane

[@wisecat.]

I know someone who is buying a house as well. He has been in the market for quite some time. He has given up his search in Utrecht and surrounding towns and changed his search to Arnhem/Nijmegen. He wants to buy for exactly the same reasons as you have and about the same criteria. Amsterdam? You can forget about that! Even one room studio's are priceless overthere. Nowadays you need a big pile of money, an extremely amount of determination and even more luck to buy a house here.

[@kirsten9323]

The housing market is crazy :(. It's stressful and not fun at all. I really hope it works out for you both with a new rental house! :)

[@MrShidimaOne]

We bought a new house last year, but we also sold a house. Without that we could not have bought what we have now. Also, you need a 'Aankoop' makelaar. Often the houses that are put on funda are already sold. The only way to get in is through the makelaar.

[@donblockchain7887]

hmm very good insights! Thanks! I was living in the NL until 2019. Then moved to Vienna, but I am looking to go back, and we were thinking of buying house so this is really helpful because if the situation is like this, then it might not be worthy of moving back at this point. This is not the way how one should by a home because there are too many places for mistakes, and also Dutch salaries are not that good compared to housing market prices, so I believe this will have to burst sooner or later, especially when we see this crazy inflation. So, I think in a 1-2 years we could see downturn...

[@DirkieB]

Sounds like an excellent decision! Those overbidding percentages are absolutely bonkers. Care to tell in what sort of price range that is? Around 300-500k? We've been casually looking for places and getting a few viewings to test the waters. But from the comfort of a house we bought 10 years ago (also for the cats), so not in a rush. But this really makes me think we should just stop until we win the lottery and can pay cash.

[@gman6862]

Market has slowed down a lot at the moment… the main catalyst to your situation was the sub 1,5% mortgage interest rates. At the moment they are upwards of 4,5%. Big difference. It will cost you more at the end… but now at least you can take your time buying a house without the stress!

[@liavd2602]

Seems you made a the best choice for you. Now from a practical viewpoint: Amersfoort is a beautifull city nearby with a good rail connection to most cities (about 15mins from Utrecht by train). Thats east of Utrecht. Then to the west you have Woerden. Not as scenic, but again - Utrecht is very nearby. To the north you may like Hilversum. It might be worth considering some other train stations in the general Utrecht area as the center of focus, perhaps Zeist (Driebergen-Zeist station) or Vleuten. Best of luck in your future house-hunting endeavors

[@superlynnie]

A lack of contractors/workers and materials for renovation is also a huge factor in the low number of properties on the market. As long as new owners can't move in to the new place, they can't sell the old.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

I remember the market from before the 2007/2008 financial crisis. Back then it was similar as now. So, I'm thinking this won't go on for years and years. People who can't get a house now might be glad they didn't in a few years. When people who bought a house in that housing boom had to sell it a few years later, the prices had dropped a lot, leaving them in debt.

[@barned]

Huizen zijn 2x zo duur als in 2008/9... 🤷‍♂️

[@marinusk67]

Na de crisis " we gaan het anders doen" . En inderdaad , het kan nog erger

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@Angelmndy In the past it always has.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@Angelmndy welcome to Dutch housing. For people who depend on social housing the same situation had been a problem for much longer. Even before WWII. So, there's no other solution than to just wait until prices go down again.

[@Dutchbelg3]

It is a matter of what (almost) all people look for now: 3 room house/apartment, near a city center (a car is less popular nowadays) with some character and a decent price. That will set you back almost always 500.000 Euro+ or it is a renovation project (and I do not mean just a paint job). Sure there are cheaper locations available in the Netherlands but not in the Randstad bigger cities.

[@khulhucthulhu9952]

My grandmother's house sold within 5 days the selling realtor came around to set up the sale. It was wild, and that was even before covid!

[@codex4046]

Thanks for the video, I've the exact same experiences. I'm looking for a house in a 50km radius around my current location. Complete fixer upper isn't an issue (my dad works in construction and Im handy as well). Ive not used a realtor, though they do take me serious because of my dad asking important questions when it comes to build quality (I don't tell them it's my dad). Stories like these make me happy I didn't go to a realtor for help. For now I'm comfortable living with my parents (at 27 years old), it allows me to save more money, but I can't wait till I get my own place. I have even looked at houses in Belgium and Germany, but the banks won't loan me as much for buildings outside the Netherlands

[@freudsigmund72]

I am a realtor in Utrecht,... and indeed the housing market is horrible if you want to buy. It is an uphill struggle to say the least. If between now and 2025 the city allocated building of an additional 120.000 homes, that is not enough for the demand.... but only a fraction of that will actually be built.

[@caseykilmore]

This sounds like a similar situation we had coming back in March and just trying to get a rental!! It was so stressful. We've been thinking about buying in the next 2 years just testing out Den Haag at the moment. Viewings getting cancelled, viewings filling up before properties even go online it is crazy here!! This doesn't make me look forward to jumping into the buying market

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

Better wait until the bubble bursts again before you buy.

[@weeardguy]

@@gert-janvanderlee5307 I'm afraid you will have to wait a long time... I'm still hoping on it as well, but don't expect it to happen anytime soon.

[@weeardguy]

But really: try to look in the surrounding regions: though these are nearly as bad as the big cities itself, transport to the cities is usually well covered and cycling usually is done so as well. I'm always a bit baffled why so many people explicitly want to live in the big cities in The Netherlands, especially considering how compact this country is.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@weeardguy Inflation stays high, interest rates are going up. People can borrow less the longer that lasts. Municipalities are waking up and demand more and more that you have to live in the house you buy. That all will make the prices go down. People are already noticing that they have more time to decide to make an offer.

[@MaschaClaessens]

Me and my hubby definitely were in luck. Just a couple of months back, we made an offer on the very first house we looked at that we loved (way under budget) and we got it, in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone, especially in Amsterdam. I'm not the first one to suggest this, but definitely take a look outside Amsterdam. The larger cities are so well connected by train and highways. :-)

[@reuireuiop0]

Rotterdam has long been the most affordable city in NL, and I would concur, the housing prices down there are not yet up standards for such an enticing location. But, one does have probably to experience it first hand, and it's nowhere as known as a place to be as are Amsterdam or the Hague. May I ask, are you from Belgium or Dutch South ("below rivers") and did that play a role in your choice for Rotterdam ?

[@urbandiscount]

@@reuireuiop0 Not anymore. We bought our apt in the centre of Rotterdam very reasonably 11 years ago: it has tripled in value. Apartments that used to be well under 200K in our neighbourhood, now pushing 400K. It's become as bad here as anywhere else.

[@ottot3221]

3,5 years ago I bought my third home. I wanted it to be move in ready but it ended up being a compleet make over for 200.000 euro. We were about just in time to pick up an affordable home. You just give it time, times change and buying a home will get back to normal.

[@br2v]

Depending your budget which I don't know, I fear that you have to look at a larger traveling distance to Utrecht maybe even to 1.5h travel time. e.g. around Lelystad, Deventer, Zutphen or Zwolle, or somewhere near Weert. There are not enough homes in NL, they should convert empty offices to homes in the cities, maybe that could solve part of it.

[@Snowshowslow]

Man... We bought our apartment four years ago in a very popular city and it was pretty crazy already, but covid (and how realtors decided to deal with that...) really made things insane! It sounds wise to bow out for now.

[@bastienjeritsch2987]

You made a very wise choice, the housing market is really crazy now and you risk going 'underwater' with the present habit of overbidding. The financial risks for starting home-owners are too high. Did you consider to go further outside of Utrecht? Purmerend, Almere, Veenendaal? These places are considerably cheaper...

[@joostvm4350]

Unfortunately your story sounds familiar and impressive how you handled it. From the preparations until the reasons to stop. At a certain point, a house just isn’t worth the price paying for it anymore. Buying a house is a long game so next to money you need to have time/patience. Good idea expanding your search area because within the big city limits it’s crazy all around. Good luck with the next search and I’m sure you’ll find a house where you can fit loads of ‘kittens’ !

[@jeffreyprice1380]

Really nice and honest.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

I bought my house 7 years ago, and the price of the same house in my street has literally tripled (I purchased when prices dipped lowest). I really feel sorry for starters in this market. My ontroerend zaak goes up a bit, but that's nothing compared to not being able to start the whole having a house thing.

[@rw80]

In a way you (and me) are part of the problem. No one forces home owners the ask the maximum possible price when selling.

[@Paul-iq6pw]

It's crazy how fast the market went into overdrive. Bought my house four years ago. Modern house, good neighborhood, no overbidding, no aankoopmakelaar needed or dropping clauses. Just me, a single guy being able to buy a nice house. In those four years time the asking price alone has increased fifty percent and I dare not to think how much the overbidding adds to that. Several friends are now looking for houses and their stories are very similar to yours: complete and utter horror. In this market I would not even have the funds for a doghouse. I really feel sorry for everyone trying to buy a house now and I think you made the right decision to put that dream on hold for now.

[@kimkaak347]

Same it is so crazy right now. I don't even live in a popular part of the Netherlands and there is still a lot of overbidding and the houses are sold so fast.

[@strikeformatik]

It almost sounds like realtors are closing ranks. I bought my house 11 years ago and were never frowned upon by selling realtors because we did it ourselves. Maybe its a Utrecht thing.

[@dv7533]

The housing market is very different now, 11 years ago was about the end of the housing crisis, we are now at the height of a housing boom. But location may also play a role. High demand makes it a sellers market now.

[@Erika1965]

I bought 10 yrs ago in an expensive town near Utrecht, but it was a completely different market. I bought without a realtor and payed less then was asked for.

[@samknetsch]

@@dv7533 i was watching in a different city and did it without a realtor, and had many house visits. so it really depend on the city and real-estate agents

[@Nynke_K]

My boyfriend bought his first house in Utrecht in 2011, without a buying realtor and underbidding; but when he sold it two years ago the overheated market and th secret lists seem to already have been in place. Our selling realtor also set the list price pretty far below what he actually expected the house to fetch. Things have definitely changed in Utrecht over the past decade! (Also we were so lucky to move out of town when we did; we wouldn't have been able to afford our current home in today's market, and it's only been two years!)

[@jan-willemgoedmakers3430]

Thank you for sharing your story. You made very wise decision to quit your search now and wait until better times. These times will come, because prices cannot continue to move up as they are doing now. I bought a house in 1999 when the housing market was also very 'hot'. Around 2005 the house was reappraised for about 30% above what I paid for it, so I felt really good. However, in 2011, I had to sell the house due to a move for work and I LOST about 15,000 euros on it based on what I paid in 1999. BUT, I also paid less for my new house, so it was ok in the end. I am sure that the market will stabilize and you will be able to buy a place you love for a price you can afford. It may be a few years from now, but the time will come.

[@Paul_C]

For now it is bonkers. A friend decided to sell, just couldn't find a replacement. Put it on hold for the time being. Till it gets less bonkers...

[@gerwin030]

I bought a new house before even putting my current place on the market with the knowledge that my current place will be sold within a few days.

[@Kailhun]

You 100% made the right decison. Most of these problems are because of the housing insanity. When I bought my house there was no secret group nor did you need a selling makelaar. Or a viewing an appointment. There were 'open dagen' where you just showed up and had a look around. Overbidding didn't happen. You could knock the price down. Houses were standing empty for months on end. When they are sold in days now. The market will calm down. I'm not sure why the market has gone insane to this degree. I suspect that if it's investors snapping up houses to rent and make a profit, the government will step in at some point.

[@MadesignMamavan4]

Back in the 90' it was already almost impossible to find a house in Utrecht. So we moved out of the city, best decision ever

[@richardvanromunde4188]

This is why we rent at the moment. We don't want to own a home that is 'onder water' in a couple of years. My parents had some trouble with that after the 2008 crash. And I can't believe that it won't get worse again, even if some people would argue it's different now and it will keep rising.

[@frankvanleeuwen2943]

You can also look in Houten...it also has a trainstation ... But it has a lot of " new " housese .

[@Whistler4u]

I must have been lucky. I bought a house last december using Funda without a realtor and got it even a little bit below the asking price (incl. voorbehoud financiering). We went to see three places and only bid on the third. Took less than 2 months. I know the city of Utrecht is different but still I'm in center of Utrecht in 20 min. by car or bus.

[@jeroenmeester9528]

Houses are cheaper in the north of the Netherlands, amd the difference is quite astounding, so if you want the benefits of a bigger city you could look for a house in Groningen or Leeuwarden, though smaller than Utrecht Groningen actually has more to offer. This might be a bit of an inconvenience for work if you don't have a drivers licence and work in Utrecht though, but the houses cost less than half of what they cost in Utrecht.

[@allyi302]

Me and Missus are in the same boat. We keep feeling it's just not worth trying to get anything now

[@tantramassagedubai]

Thank you for the great advice we were seeing some reasonable prices on funda... then heard from your channel you will be in a nightmare of disappointment and stress. Sounds crazy all these bids over 25 pc actual valuation.! Like a mafia and I hate the way they are handling the market.. all these viewings cancelled.. I heard the same elsewhere. I think much better in UK here. Would buying a new build be easier?. In Amsterdam or elsewhere, or are they also going to the highest bids

[@jwenting]

Your main problem is wanting a place in a high demand area of a high demand city. If you'd started looking in like Nieuwegein or Maarssen you'd probably have had more success. Sure you're looking at a longer commute, but you've more luck finding a place as well as ending up with a place that's almost certainly both cheaper, larger, and better quality (so less deferred maintenance, better area, etc.). Or get out of the Utrecht area completely and go look in for example Amersfoort.

[@MrSmriley]

Buying a house in any major city will always be a problem, in the Netherlands and elsewhere. I moved 50 minutes south of Amsterdam because there you can buy a stunning traditional farmhouse, modernised, with massive garden for the same price as a terrible small flat in the city.

[@Helpimnoob]

This is a horror story! it makes me feel like I was so lucky that I was able to buy a home 8 years ago. I got a contract at work and immediately bought a house. At that time many, many houses had been for sale 2-3 years or even longer, and nobody wanted to buy. I only looked at 2 houses. I bought the second one 8% under asking price, and it was in perfect condition. I didn't even need to paint. I could have never afforded to do it now if I didn't't have the extra value added by my current home, especially since I'm single, so there is no second income. It's near impossible to buy a home on one income these days unless you really make a lot of money. I really hope the market will slow down and you two will have an opportunity to buy your dream home! And good luck with getting the.. euh... kittens when you are ready for them.

[@DutchAmericano]

Thank you!

[@eddys.3524]

Buying a house is always better during an economic crisis, if you can afford it ;)

[@frankverschoof8083]

No rush.... This problem will go on for a few years. If You're up for it: look at housing projects who will start in the near future. A lot of new stuff is coming in Rotterdam

[@vogel2280]

Yup, it is a sellers market........ But Utrecht......with only 160.000 homes and three quarters of a million people that would like to live there.... that is setting yourself up for failure.... Remember...in current times it is real easy to get a job and really hard to get a house. So forget about finding a home near your job...get a job near to were you managed to buy a house. When we bought our house 10 years ago, it was neither a buyers or sellers market. To stand a chance we forgot about Utrecht and expanded our search to Nijmegen, Den Bosch, Breda. In the end we found a cute suburban neighbourhood Breda. At the time houses in our neighbourhood were sold within 6 days. Currently I guess within 6 hours... Did all go well for us? Well...of course we fixed our interest rate at *4.8% for 10 years* because it could only go up from there....right?!?....wrong!!!!....

[@martine5923]

We did the same but in Haarlem and areas around it took from April until may The closed bidding one bid system annoyed me, let us be in a biding war so you know what's going on We got very lucky and a bid that was higher then ours was from a housing rental company, so previous owners asked if we wanted to match the bid But we had the buying clause and it was not a problem here at least So don't give up it is possible, but taking a break is totally understandable We ended up paying over 30% over asking price for a 2 bedroom in Haarlem

[@jeffreyvandeursen4827]

I exprencies the same, looked at 57 houses an bid 17 times, just recently i find a rental home....im now 28 and just recently on my own

[@khulhucthulhu9952]

I'm really happy my parents bought their first home 10 years ago, when you could still get a home even if you really tried very hard

[@PH61a]

Hey Ava! How about buying something that still has to be build in stead of an existing place (nieuwbouw)?

[@InWeCome]

Imagine not owning a house and looking for your first. Prices have almost doubled since 2015 but your income has not! The market should cool down in a few years, even though prices may not drop back to 2015 levels. Excellent moral of the story by the way and wise decision to take a break, if you enjoy the present how bad can your future be?

[@Trampoline116]

Good decision, I’d avoid Amsterdam though, it’s probably the same story. The market is broken. We own a house that doubled in value in 5 years but what good does that do us when everything else doubled as well. It just sucks.

[@VeryFastRodi]

Looking in the bigger cities is either close to impossible, or if you really want it you have to overpay a huge amount. Only option people are gonna almost have these days is going in with a group of 3 people at least to get a decent place, to make sure there is enough money to get a place without going into a huge debt/loan

[@1990Cornetto]

I went to see a mortgage advisor in Amersfoort. What I could get was not in anyway close enough plus my large savings to buy a flat there. I have to live here due to work, but this isn't normal. Maybe one day this housing market will all come crumbling down?

[@_maghetweten]

I can relate. Since March 2020 due to covid19 I work remotely and yeah a separate room to have it like your own office is something everybody ones nowadays. But in the real estate market in the Netherlands: buying a house in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht will cost you. Everybody wants to live there. Even within like 20km around Utrecht in Nieuwegein, Houten, Hilversum and so on people who cannot buy in Utrecht will try there. In the end I'm gonna opt for a location within 30min of Amersfoort / Utrecht by train/car. Say Apeldoorn, Deventer, Ede/Wageningen. Even there it's hard but nowhere as impossible in Utrecht and mostly Randstad regio.

[@Justin-vi8dr]

Buy a house in one of the lovely old places between Utrecht and Amsterdam. You have all the splendor of the old buildings, maybe you could even buy a complete old house there with a garden. While having the ability to bike to both Amsterdam and Utrecht (maybe a fast electric bike or e-scooter or something). Again, I don't know your budget, but if you search in one of the very beautiful places in between it might be possible (like Breukelen, Vreeland, Loenen aan de Vecht, Baambrugge, 's-Graveland). Then you get the bonus of very beautiful Dutch countryside/lake area and access to both cities you love (please don't tell this to people from both cities, since the places in between are allready crowded enough :) )

[@juloedtb1420]

Foreign investors are buying all the inner city properties to sell/rent them out to expats. This is the main reason prices go up. I hope the goverment will come up with a law that prevents foreign investors from buying up Dutch real estate. I can imagine something like, you buy property, you need to live in it for atleast 10 years. This way young Dutch (families) get a fair chance on the housing market. Even affordable rentals are hard to find. Some cities have waiting lists of 5 to 10 years while expats just come over and get housing straight away because the companies pay their rent.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

You seriously hope that the goverment comes up with laws against foreign investors? The same goverment with probably the same political party's that only a few years ago, wanted to completely abolish dividend taxes for those same foreign investors. For no particular reason, just as a gift to those foreign investors. And even when they learned that there was absolutely no support for that plan at all. They just wanted to give away billions of euro's to foreign investors that weren't really paying that much taxes to begin with.

[@juloedtb1420]

@@gert-janvanderlee5307 The only reason for planning to get rid of dividend taxes was to persuade Unilever to keep their HQ in The Netherlands. And the only one person in favor was PM Rutte. Even his own party was giving him a hard time over it. However, this government has a big housing problem and they have to solve it somehow. Scaring away foreign investors in the housing market is not such a bad idea. If you have a better idea, please enlighten me! And dont start about a leftist goverment because that's not a solution, probably just another personal preference. They would have to face the same problem.

[@vogel2280]

Expats need a house as well.....so no matter who owns the houses. There is a shortage of 300.000 houses. At 1.8 persons per house that means 540.000 people with plenty of cash are living in their parents attics and caravans. They are extremely motivated to buy a house even at twice the value. It's the housing shortage that is the problem, not foreign investors. To fix the problem you need either more homes or less people. But of course when they asked the people that do live in Utrecht if more homes should be build.....the answer was no....

[@juloedtb1420]

@@vogel2280 This is bs. The real estate is a bubble waiting to burst like the last time. This time a lot of people will loose a lot more money. I don't say expats shouldn't get houses, but it should be a fair market. Inner cities like Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht are no longer affordable for the locals. I dont recognize my own town anymore because of expats. Locals are being chased out! I assume you make a lott of money with these high prices, but you have no right to tell others to spend more money than the property is worth. It's people with your thoughts that are blowing the bubble to the point of collapse. You can build all the houses you want but they will not be in the randstad. There simply is no room anymore. Only in the northern, southern and eastern provinces is enough room but expats don't want to live there, neither the locals of the randstad.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@juloedtb1420 No, it wasn't just for Unilever back then. Other multinationals were involved too. And you're forgetting that we're gonna be stuck with that same Mark rutte for at least four more years. Chances that he will turn against foreign investors now are zero.

[@jaila2806]

I know it's crazy right now with the housing. But dont make all these crazy things get to you. I know it's hard, but wait a year of 2, it's not worth it to buy a house right now. Don't ever overbid, just don't, you're basically throwing away your money. My best friend has the same problem as you guys and I'm telling her the same thing. I bought a house 4 years ago and it's now "worth" double the price I paid for it. Times will change. My brother in law and his girlfriend also wanted to buy a house in Utrecht and they ended up renting a place as well, the appartement they got was a newly build place. The upside was, because they wanted to buy a place at first they were also pretty deep in to having all the papers and stuff ready. So the moment they applied for the appartement they were miles ahead of other people that were interested and got the place really quick.

[@dv7533]

I get the same vibes from the Dutch housing market that I got before the 2007 housing bubble and crash, so I expect it to at least stagnate and possibly crash. I am usually early with these predictions so it might be another decade before prices go down. Also it will depend on how the economy goes post CoViD. But even if it crashes, Utrecht and Amsterdam will be more expensive than most other places. The less popular places can still be affordable, but those prices will probably be hit harder when the bubble bursts, so more financial risk. Complete fixer-uppers can be cheap, but if you want it to stay cheap you will have to do a lot of the work yourself and that is not a thing people should jump into without plenty of experience in DIY and/or friends/family that can and will do the work for the cost of a meal.

[@Pheagey]

Thinking about the kittens. Nice.

[@jeroent5079]

Number 1 tip for buying a house in NL: Do not think of where you want to LIVE, but where you want to WORK (and HOW). I was raised a big city boy, but now I am happily living in a nice little town in Brabant. My non-Dutch wife found a job in Eindhoven, where there are plenty of international jobs. I own a company in Utrecht, but most of my clients are all over The Netherlands and abroad, and most work I can actually do from home, so I don’t need to be in Utrecht to work and therefore I do not need to live there either. Prices here are much more affordable. Unless you are hooked to the canals and the charms of Utrecht or Amsterdam, look somewhere completely different and visit Utrecht or Amsterdam in the weekend.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

The location or the prices aren't the problem here. Forget about where you want to live or work. Think of where you get even the smallest chance of buying something. The problem is that there are not enough houses. For every house that comes on the market there are hundreds of people who want to buy it.

[@Rob2]

@@gert-janvanderlee5307 In those areas. Not in Drente, Oost-Groningen or Noord-Limburg.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@Rob2 I don't live in those area's but what I have heard is that the situation is nation wide. Definitely here in the south.

[@jamiladekker5238]

@@Rob2 ook in Limburg is de huizenmarkt tegenwoordig verschrikkelijk oververhit. Waar overbieden hier niet bestond, is het tegenwoordig standaard.

[@ItsSKYYo]

Oh my gosh.. how the heck did Google know to show me this. Im looking to buy in Haarlem. And Man.. Yea it seems very competitive. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

[@DutchAmericano]

Good luck! And Google is pretty scarily accurate sometimes...

[@ItsSKYYo]

@@DutchAmericano aww thanks. I’ll keep you updated :) subscribed!!

[@mdecoo81]

Hi, it's everywhere expensive. The only good chance is to buy a new house (to be build)

[@problu9586]

An alternative to consider, buying a plot of land and getting a house built on it. A longtime Dutch friend began that process about 2 years ago. After buying a small plot of land, a property lines dispute arose when the builder began plotting out where the house would stand. Local government got involved, sheesh. Okay, that issue got resolved. Then the house was "built". The new house had/has numerous serious flaws. The builder went belly-up, so my friend is still contending with getting the house fixed, out-of-pocket. What a nightmare. At this point, my friend does not know when the house will be habitable.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

Plots of land where you are allowed to build your own house on are as rare as unicorns. If there are any locations for building new houses, then it's mostly a project developer that gets it.

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

Amsterdam is the most expensive city and Utrecht is the second most expensive city. Literally anywhere else in the country, it will be easier to find a house.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

Nope, it won't. We don't have enough houses. That isn't solved with lower prices.

[@reuireuiop0]

It's not about "enough" houses, it's about investors buying up houses to rent out for way higher prices than regular people can afford. Ex pats will pay those prices, making young rich Dutch looking further afield, overbidding the locals, stretching prices all the way to Groningen and Zeeland. That's what you get when you make a housing market a free for all - NL is such an attractive place to live, that loads of people from outside looking to live in Europe, put us first on their list.

[@gert-janvanderlee5307]

@@reuireuiop0 Bullocks. Around here it's locals overbidding other locals too. Because there aren't enough houses. Even without expats we would still have not enough houses. As you can see the same problem in each pricerange. Including the social rent houses where there aren't any expats because they don't qualify for those houses.

[@PyrusFlameborn]

@@gert-janvanderlee5307 it's both. There is not 1 single cause for the problem.

[@FrankD491]

The moral of your story is the most valuable lesson someone can learn. Live and enjoy your life in the present. And someday you'll find your dreamhouse.

[@williammccoy7127]

It is a small country,and space is a commodity , NL is one of the most populated in the world 18 million over 500 / square km number 16 in the world. That is showing in the housing market as it does any where else in the world. I live in Danmark about the same size of NL with 5.5 million citizens and if you stay out of the big city,s you buy a very nice house for about a 100000 Euro . You don’t get anything in.NL for that price no matter where you live .

[@miafey61]

Thanks for your video! You mentioned a kitty? Do you have a cat? I'm considering relocating to the Netherlands with my two cats (from the UK) and to be honest are more worried about my cats than about myself! Would be grateful if you could do a video about owning a cat in the Netherlands? Are they generally well accepted? Do people usually treat them well? Mine are outdoor cats. I'm very lucky to be living in a very cat friendly neighborhood. There are so many cats nearby and people are generally fine with cats visiting each others' garden etc. One of mine is a hunter, the other one is more of a home boy. I'm concerned whether that's OK in the Netherlands, as I think houses are usually close to each other in towns. Pet insurance? Vet services? Catteries? Cat sitters? Cat supplies? I'm rather nervous... my boys are having a good time here. Our neighborhood is rather safe with very little traffic, bushy areas nearby perfect for them to wander around and enough interesting things for them to play with. Foxes and badgers, rats and mouse, frogs and birds.... and I want them to be happy and healthy and safe forever :)