Buying a House in Leiden: The Current Situation and Possibilities

Finding accommodation in Leiden can be challenging in the current housing market due to a shortage of houses. While renting may seem like the most obvious choice for most expats, buying a house may be a better option than many expats initially would expect.

Current Housing Market

In Leiden, we can see that the current housing market is changing. While houses are still being sold above the asking price, the trend of overbidding seems to be slowing down. Also, an interesting development is the selling of properties by landlords. Due to changes in tax rules, renting out apartments becomes decreasingly attractive as landlords experience a strong decline in their profits. Therefore, many investors started selling their apartments. Consequently, in the last 2 years, the Leiden housing market has benefited from an increase in apartments for sale, which has led to opportunities for people interested in buying instead of renting their accommodation. As we expect that most of the properties will be sold within a year, looking at your possibilities for buying an apartment this year may be a great opportunity.

What is needed to buy a house?

Obviously, a stable financial situation is needed to buy a house. Therefore, many people assume that they can only participate in the market with a permanent employment contract. However, this is not true. When your employer intends to offer you a permanent employment contract after your temporary contract ends, Dutch banks will accept your current salary to approve a mortgage. Even if you have a temporary contract without a letter of intent, there might be possibilities for you as an expat, especially when you work for an international organization.

Additionally, savings are a must for buying a house. As mentioned earlier, overbidding is still strongly present, and you will need savings to cover most of the overbidding and pay for the purchase costs.

Even though enough income and savings are a very good start to participate in the housing market, it is essential to receive the right guidance. This starts with speaking to a mortgage advisor who can inform you about your financial possibilities and give you important tips and guidance to increase your chances when searching and bidding for a house, such as providing you with a financial statement, hiring a buying agent or using a bidding insurance. Would you like to know more about your options in the housing market? Feel free to contact us for a free consultation.