NOS.nl: "A second home no longer just for those over 60"
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- NOS.nl: "A second home no longer just for those over 60"
By nos.nl
A second home in the Netherlands, on the Costa del Sol, or in the middle of the mountains of Austria: some years ago this was mainly reserved for the over-sixties, but nowadays more and more forty-somethings are also interested in holiday homes.
This trend was noticed by the organization of the Second Home Fair, which can be visited either today or tomorrow at MECC Maastricht. "I think that is quite remarkable: the over-40s are coming to take a look in our fair. In any case, we are certainly seeing more and more strollers", says organizer Tom van den Brink. "These are small entrepreneurs, such as freelancers, who are still trying to figure out their pensions."
The number of visitors to the Second Home Fair has seen a sharp increase since 2014. At that time — in the middle of the economic crisis — the fair attracted over 4000 visitors, but now the counter stops at 7000 to 8000. There are also more suppliers at the fair. According to the organization, this confirms that the sector is growing.
Also TopParken, a chain with 17 vacation parks in the Netherlands, notices that more and more people in their forties are interested in a second house in the Netherlands. This is partly due to the low savings interest, but also because of the fact that more and more tourists are coming to the Netherlands.
TopParken has been a specialist in renting and selling second houses in the Netherlands for more than forty years. You can read more about the possibilitieshere you can also simply request information. without any strings attached.
Savings interest
This is mainly due to the fact that the interest rate on savings is virtually zero. "Such a return doesn't make me happy," says Gerard Booij from Den Bosch. According to him, it would be better to invest in real estate. Last year, the former entrepreneur sold a large distribution center, received a lot of money for it, and invested it in the purchase of five holiday homes: four in Julianadorp in North Holland, and one in Zandvoort.
"You're talking about a 6 percent return, that's something else. These cottages are rented out 70 percent of the time to people who want to spend a week out. Pretty good, isn't it?"
Investing in real estate, is that risk free? Van den Brink: "Nobody can guarantee that the value of a holiday home will always remain at the same level or even increase. But if you take a look at the past few years, you can see that the prices are very stable and are currently going up. So in that respect, it's a constant value investment."
How many Dutch people actually own a second home is unknown. However, real estate association NVM does know how many second homes have been sold in our country. In 2017 there were 4330 sales, an increase of 15 percent compared to the year before. In 2018 that number would have increased to 4700, based on figures from the Land Registry Office. According to the NVM, Zeeland is particularly popular.
Spain is number 1
Recent research by the Second Home Fair among a thousand visitors shows that Spain is by far the favorite country for a holiday home (27 percent). This is followed by the Netherlands (17 percent) and France (12 percent). The average purchase price of a second home is 234,000 euros.
Half of the buyers rent out the home, the other half uses it themselves while also aiming at the return on their invested capital.
By nos.nl
