Willingness for saving and repayment of the own residence

Starters save more

Until the economic crisis of 2008 it was usual to loan 150% of the value of your house. This loan to value rate will decrease to 100%. A consequence of this is that the financing of renovation or accompanying buying costs (costs for the notary, transfer tax etc.) can no longer be paid from a mortgage. So, when someone wants to buy a house, they will have to save well in advance to bear those costs. Data has shown that this is indeed happening; on average a starter saves up to €10.000 to €30.000 before buying a house.

Owners are repaying

Because of the low saving interest on wealth the mortgage payments are still higher than the interest rate compensation even after the tax relief on mortgage interest. In addition your wealth is taxed in box 3 while the payment of your mortgage is not taxed. Another motive to repay is because the house is worth less than the value of the mortgage. And indeed, since 2013 the mortgage debt of Dutch households has decreased.

Sources:

CBS, rapport 25th  of June 2014

Parool, 11th of December 2014