High housing costs and interest rates drive young people away from starting a family

Brussels – Housing costs too much, and starting a family is a project that must wait. It is a problem for an increasing number of people, and one that, in Belgium, is beginning to assume the dimensions and scope of a phenomenon: high mortgages, which affect the life of the individual and the prospects of a society. And to say that Belgium, still, is an EU country where people tend to have children young, but something has changed. A study conducted by ING shows that young people are afraid of the future and therefore put it off until later.

High costs and interest rates lead 7 out of 10 young people (71 percent of men and women aged 25-34) to postpone moving in together and starting a family. In just five years, the situation has become so untenable that a practically identical percentage of respondents (72 percent) believe that without help from their parents, it is impossible to take out mortgages to buy a house. 

The survey conducted in Belgium puts the spotlight on the loss of purchasing power, in a spiral of low wages, rising cost of living, and an unabated surge in real estate prices that makes it difficult to imagine a future. This situation risks having an even greater impact on another already structural problem in the European Union, namely the demographic decline, driven not so much by permissive laws on abortion as some eager to overturn legislation and acquired rights claims, but by the economic impossibility of having a family.

Added to this is a widespread sense of distrust, with an increasing number of young people convinced and resigned to the idea that owning a home is now an unattainable dream and that they must settle for less, another factor that leads them to delay and put off their decision. “62 percent of Belgians believe that first-time homebuyers are forced to buy temporary housing while waiting to find their dream home,” acknowledges Alissa Lefebre, economist at ING and author of the study. Moreover, “just over half of them even expect that this ideal home will remain a dream for many buyers,” and for the 25-34 year olds, “as many as two-thirds are convinced” of this.

 Newly built homes have become something of a ‘taboo’, as their prices have risen due to the increasing cost of materials, a trend seen not only in Belgium. New apartments are therefore even more unaffordable, and first-time buyers are left with few options: either give up or take out longer-term mortgages. The latter option, however, is causing many to hesitate.