Want to know more about our sources and analyses?
Transparency is one of our core values, so you’ll find all the details below.
- Analyses for the “Buying vs Renting” Page
- Analyses for Downsizing on the “Cost-cutting housing strategies page”
- Analyses for the Top 10 Mortgage Advisers
Analyses for the “Buying vs Renting” Page
Average monthly rent of € 2 265
On 26 February 2025, we searched for rental apartments on Funda.nl using the following criteria: Search tab “zoek een huurwoning”; Area “Utrecht, plaats in Utrecht”, 0km. Filtered for Soort aanbod (Appartement); Beschikbaarheid (Beschikbaar & In onderhandeling); Slaapkamers (Van 3 tot 3). The search resulted in 16 properties. We recorded the rental price and size of each property and calculated the averages. The average rental price was € 2 265 and the average size 98m2. We decided to use apartments for the buy vs rent page because a similar search for “woonhuise” resulted in only 10 properties.
Average monthly mortgage (hypotheek) of around € 2 208
On 26 February 2025, we searched for apartments to buy on Funda.nl using the following criteria: Search tab “zoek een koopwoning”; Area “Utrecht, plaats in Utrecht”, 0km. Filtered for Soort aanbod (Appartement); Beschikbaarheid (Beschikbaar & In onderhandeling); Slaapkamers (Van 3 tot 3), Bestemming (Permanente bewoning). The search resulted in 131 properties. We recorded the purchase price and size of each property and calculated the averages. The average purchase price was € 681 701 and the average size 106m2. Since the average size of the “koopwoningen” was larger than the average size of the rental properties (98m2), we excluded the 11 largest properties, leaving 120 properties. The average purchase price of these properties was € 612 565 and the average size 98m2.
To calculate the mortgage, we used the “wat worden mijn maandlasten” calculator on the De Hypotheker website on 27 February 2025. The following values were used: Hypotheekbedrag (€ 612 565); Bruto jaarinkomen (€ 51 600); Leeftijd (35); Alleen kopen; Maandelijkse financiele verlichtingen (Nee); Hypotheekvorm (Annuiteiten); Rentevaste periode (10 jaar). The netto maandlasten was calculated at € 2 208, and the bruto maandlasten at € 2 921, Netto (net) monthly payments refer to the cost after tax deductions have been taken into account.
Additional monthly costs for Homeowners
Home-owners are responsible for additional costs, compared to tenants. The Nationaal Instituut voor Budgetvoorlichting (NIBUD) lists Onroerendezaakbelasting (OZB), Watersysteemheffing (eigenaaraandeel) and Opstalverzekering as additional costs for home-owners. Owners are also responsible for the VvE-bijdrage and major maintenance costs for the property.
| Description | Monthly cost | Calculation |
| Maintenance costs | € 383 | We only included internal maintenance fees, since external maintenance fees for apartments are included in the VVE bijdrage. According to a Chat GPT search for the estimated maintenance costs for an apartment in the Netherlands, the general rule is: 0.5% – 1% of the apartment value per year for personal upkeep. We used 0.75%, which is slightly lower than the general 1% rule in property maintenance Monthly cost was calculated as (612 565*0.0075)/12 = 383 |
| VvE-bijdrage | € 156 | Recorded the VvE-bijdragen for the first 10 properties listed on the 3-bedroom “koopwoning” search above. They ranged from € 36 to € 247 with one outlier at € 555. We averaged all values, except the outlier, resulting in an average of € 156. |
| Onroerendezaakbelasting (OZB) | € 46 | The OZB-tariff in 2025 for the gemeente Utrecht = 0,0895% of the WOZ-value. The WOZ-value was estimated at €612 565 [1]. The monthly cost was calculated as (612 565*0.000895)/12 = € 46. |
| Watersysteemheffing voor eigenaren | € 12 | The water system levy for home-owners in 2025 for the gemeente Utrecht = 0,02272% of the WOZ-value. The WOZ-value was estimated at €612 565 [1]. The monthly cost was calculated as (612 565*0,0002272)/12 = € 12. |
| Opstalverzekering | € 0 | Included in the VvE-bijdrage for apartments |
| Total | € 597 |
- Since we do not know the actual WOZ-value for the hypothetical apartment, we used the average purchase price of €612 565 instead of the WOZ-value. These values are therefore likely overestimates, since the WOZ-value is generally lower than the purchase value.
Rental costs over 15 years
We calculated the total rent over 15 years, assuming a 3.5% yearly rental price increase. We used a 3.5% annual increase, assuming landlords will not increase the rent by the current maximum allowable amount (4.1%) in the free sector each year. According to this calculation rental costs increase from € 2 265 per month in year 1 to € 3 666 per month in year 15, totalling € 524 457 over 15 years. This value is just an estimate and depends on many factors that might change in the future, but is provided here to give some idea of what the total rental costs might be over 15 years.
Percentage of home ownership after 15 years
We calculated the percentage of home ownership after 15 years using the Amortization Calculator on Calculator.net on 25 March 2025, using the following criteria: Home Price: € 612 565; Loan Term: 30 years; Interest Rate: 3.91%. The ending balance (remaining loan balance) after 15 years was € 393 477. Thus € 219 088 (€ 612 565 – € 393 477) was paid already, which amounts to 36% ((€ 219 088/ € 612 565)*100).
Average house price increase over the last 10 years
Used CEIC data of the average house price (all dwellings) in the Netherlands between end of 2014 and the end of 2024. The average house prices increased from approximately € 220 000 in 2014 to approximately € 470 000 in 2024.
Analyses for the Top 10 Mortgage Advisers
In March 2025, we searched Advieskeuze.nl using the following criteria: In de buurt van (left empty); Op afstand (Heel NL); Gecontroleerde data (Gecontroleerd door Advieskeuze); Tarieven (Heeft Tariefgegevens & Eerste Gesprek is gratis); Webcamadvies (Geeft advies via webcam). The results were sorted on price. We recorded the company name, ranking out of 10, number of reviews, tariff, and languages in which they offer advice for the 20 lowest price companies. We searched the companies on Google Maps and recorded their rankings and number of reviews. Companies were excluded if they had fewer than 50 reviews on Advieskeuze.nl (3 companies) or a ranking below 9.5 on Advieskeuze.nl and/ or below 4 on Google Maps (1 company). Next, we searched all company websites for their tariffs and emailed the companies for their tariffs if no information was provided on the website. To compare their tariffs on an equal basis, we recorded the complete hypotheek costs (advies & bemiddeling) for first-time homebuyers (starters). Companies were ranked based on their confirmed tariffs, available below:
- Somers-Hypotheken.
- Richards Online.
- FinFit. Confirmed price telephonically.
- De Hypotheekfabriek.
- Hypotheekgeluk.
- Assurantie Adviesbureau.
- Rovenzo Hypotheken.
- A&A Financieel Advies B.V. Email confirmation 6.3.2025
- Koppelman Uw Hypotheekman.
- AB Financieel Advies.
Analyses for Downsizing on the “Cost-cutting housing strategies page”
On 26 February 2025, we searched for apartments to buy on Funda.nl using the following criteria: Search tab “zoek een koopwoning”; Area “Utrecht, plaats in Utrecht”, 0km. Filtered for Soort aanbod (Appartement); Beschikbaarheid (Beschikbaar & In onderhandeling); Slaapkamers (Van 3 tot 3), Bestemming (Permanente bewoning). The search resulted in 131 properties. We recorded the purchase price and size of each property. Properties were sorted according to size and the five smallest (Average size = 65m2; Average purchase price = €432,800), middle-sized (Average size = 97m2; Average purchase price = €694,000), and largest properties identified (Average size = 220m2; Average purchase price = €2,067,000). Purchase prices were simplified to €400 000, €700 000 and €2 000 000 to simplify the storyline.
Total estimated cost for the three options
We included the following costs in the total estimated cost over 30 years for each option:
| Cost small | Cost medium | Cost large | Calculation | |
| Total Mortgage costs | € 646 624 | € 1 131 593 | € 3 233 121 | Calculated using Calculator.net, assuming € 0 downpayment; 30 year loan term; 3.5% interest rate; Start April 2025 |
| Property Transfer fees | € 8 000 | € 14 000 | € 40 000 | 2% of purchase price. |
| Total Maintenance | € 154 868 | € 271 019 | € 774 340 | We only included internal maintenance fees, since external maintenance fees for apartments are included in the VVE bijdrage. According to a Chat GPT search for the estimated maintenance costs for an apartment in the Netherlands, the general rule is: 0.5% – 1% of the apartment value per year for personal upkeep*. We used 0.75%, which is slightly lower than the general 1% rule in property maintenance. Yearly costs were adjusted for inflation (3.5%) over a 30-year period. |
| Total Energy costs | € 86 726 | € 130 089 | € 300 444 | Estimated from a ChatGPT search. Estimated assuming €0.40 per kWh (electricity), €1.40 per m³ (gas); Average consumption per m²: 10-12 m³ gas/year and 25-30 kWh electricity/year; Properties using gas heating. Resulting in Small monthly ~€140, Medium-sized monthly ~€210, large monthly ~€485. Yearly costs were adjusted for inflation (3.5%) over a 30-year period.* |
| Total Property Taxes | € 18 481 | € 32 342 | € 92 405 | The OZB-tariff in 2025 for the gemeente Utrecht = 0,0895% of the WOZ-value. For simplicity, the purchase price was used as the WOZ-value, which is an overestimate. Yearly costs were adjusted for inflation (3.5%) over a 30-year period. |
| Total | € 914 699 | € 1 579 043 | € 4 440 310 | |
| Small saved in comparison | € 664 344 | € 3 525 611 | The difference between the total costs for the small apartment and the other two options. |
* These values are just rough estimates. You can find more detailed information about your estimated energy costs on Energievergelijk.nl or Consumentenbond.nl
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