For two in three people between the ages of 21 and 35, owning their own home is an unattainable dream. This is evident from a study by Immotheker Finotheker. “The housing market is locked up for young people,” warns the consultancy. The average age at which we buy our first home has risen to 42 years.
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In 2011, men and women between the ages of 21 and 35 made up 61 percent of the customers who borrowed for their first home through Immotheker Finotheker. Ten years later, that number has dropped to 41 percent. The average age to buy a first home has risen to 42 years.
A worrying evolution that we have been seeing for some time, says director John Romain. “We must be able to offer our young people a perspective. Because if they have to postpone the purchase of their own home all the time, sooner or later they are in danger of giving up completely. This can have a dramatic effect on poverty rates in our country. It has already been shown several times that those over 65 who do not have their own home have a much greater chance of ending up in poverty. ”
Never buy a house
In additional research by iVox among 2,000 Belgians, 43 percent of 21 to 35-year-olds say they own their own home today. Worse, 64 percent of the non-owned group indicates that buying their own home is impossible for financial reasons. Ten percent of them consider buying their own house or apartment not feasible even in the future.
“The sharp price increases are a problem for younger buyers, now that the National Bank is also imposing a higher own contribution. Those who buy and borrow will therefore have their own contribution in 2020 that is one third higher than the year before, ”says Romain.
Support from parents
Of those young adults, 24 percent believe that buying a first home will be very difficult in the future, and 51 percent say it is impossible without the help of parents or family. “Three in ten rent, one in four still lives at home and we see that parents are increasingly contributing financially to the purchase of their first home,” says Romain.
He therefore calls on the government to intervene. “To start with, starters – who can invest less capital – should be able to borrow more than 90 percent of the purchase amount more easily from the banks, without being penalized with a higher interest rate. This is possible with a government guarantee, or the government can also provide start-up loans itself. In addition, starters must also be able to take out loans with a term of 30 years more easily. ”
Offering more starter homes would also help. “To this end, Immotheker Finotheker advocates a further reduction of the sales rights for starter homes and higher sales rights for those who already have a home. The dream of an affordable home will be jeopardized if we do not act quickly. ”
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