The flow in the housing market will continue to be under pressure, says De Hypotheker. This is the result of tightened mortgage rules, making it financially less interesting for the elderly to move to a smaller owner-occupied home.
Rabobank and mortgage subsidiary Obvion announced a limitation of the interest-free mortgage a week ago. From May 11, customers can borrow up to 30 percent of the value of a house interest-free, now that is still 50 percent. This has consequences for customers of the bank who are moving, says De Hypotheker. “In the event of a move, a smaller part of the mortgage may be taken with interest-free, which can make the monthly charges significantly higher.”
The higher monthly charges mainly have consequences for older homeowners. The interest-free mortgage has lost popularity in recent years. But of those over 55, three quarters have a non-payable mortgage. It becomes less interesting for this group to move from a larger single-family home to a smaller owner-occupied home. “While it is precisely elderly people who want to move that can promote the flow in the housing market, this measure has a relatively large impact on this age group”, says commercial director Mark de Rijke. He calls it worrying, “because flow is crucial to getting movement in the housing market”.
De Hypotheker also expects other banks to follow Rabobank’s policy. The European Central Bank and De Nederlandsche Bank announced earlier this year that they would pay closer attention to interest-free mortgages in their supervision due to the risks they pose to financial institutions.
Source: @ANP and News Brainport
