Banks are lending more for residential mortgage loans

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Mortgage lending by banks in the Netherlands is growing robustly again after a temporary downturn, new figures from DNB show. Growth is even above the euro area average. Loans with fixed-interest periods of five to ten years in particular are in demand.

Published: 04 August 2025

Een ‘verkocht’ bordje dat voor een huis staat

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In June 2025, year-on-year growth in the amount of residential mortgage loans outstanding by banks amounted to 5.2%, to a total of €611 billion. A year earlier, in June 2024, the growth rate was 2.4%.

The last time bank lending for residential mortgages showed such growth rates was in 2008.

Source: DNB statistics

At De Nederlandsche Bank, we independently compile statistics on the Dutch financial sector and economy. This article is based on these statistics. More information on our statistics and all dashboards can be found on our Statistics homepage.

Size and breakdown of the Dutch mortgage market

In addition to the banking sector, other sectors such as pension funds, investment firms, insurers and other financial institutions, also have residential mortgage loans on their balance sheets. However, the banking sector is by far the largest residential mortgage lender, with a share of around 70%.

Bank balance sheets continue to grow

Growth in bank mortgage lending has been up and down in recent years. From 2021, it increased sharply, thanks in part to historically low mortgage interest rates. Then there was a slump from mid-2022 to early 2024, against the backdrop of rising mortgage interest rates due to European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate changes.

In June 2024, the ECB started lowering its interest rates again, which had an effect on the mortgage market. Around that time, bank mortgage growth in the Netherlands picked up again. And since early 2025, there has been a marked acceleration.

This is reflected in the monthly growth of residential mortgage loans on Dutch banks' balance sheets: thus far, the average monthly increase in 2025 has amounted to €2.9 billion. For comparison, in 2024, the monthly average was €1.9 billion.

Over a slightly longer period, since the surge in bank mortgage lending in 2021, the total amount outstanding increased by more than €77 billion, to the current total of €611 billion.

Dutch bank mortgage market lending outstrips euro area average

The Dutch bank mortgage growth has been higher than the euro area average since the fourth quarter of 2023. Moreover, the temporary slump in the Netherlands was less pronounced than elsewhere in Europe.

In addition to an increase in the number of homes sold, this may be partly due to faster-rising house prices and stronger wage growth in the Netherlands compared to the rest of the euro area.

Combined with lower interest rates, this wage growth allows households to borrow more to finance increased house prices – which are partly due to the tightness in the housing market. Higher mortgage loans are taken out as a result and consequently, bank lending also increases more strongly.

Fixed-interest period of 5 to 10 years back in demand

From 2020 to 2022, many households opted for a fixed-rate period of more than 10 years. Since 2023, that preference has gradually shifted: today, more than half of new residential mortgages issued by banks fall into the 5- to 10-year fixed-interest rate category.

Before 2023, interest rates were low and the rate differentials between various fixed-interest periods was limited. Households then opted for long-term security.

Since 2023, the gap between interest rates for different fixed-interest periods has widened.  As a result, households now appear to prefer shorter fixed periods, possibly anticipating that rates will be lower when it's time to renew their mortgage.

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