Expats find homes faster than Dutch buyers

ROTTERDAM, 16 March 2026 – Expats in the Netherlands are finding homes faster than Dutch buyers, according to the latest Expat Barometer from Viisi Hypotheken. The figures suggest that foreign buyers move through the market more decisively, bidding on more homes while still overbidding by a lower average percentage than Dutch buyers.

For anyone watching the housing market from Rotterdam, the findings will feel instantly relevant. Competition stays intense, and speed still matters. Viisi’s latest survey, based on 927 expats and 1,923 Dutch people who recently bought a home in the Netherlands, found that expats needed an average of 5.4 months to buy a home, compared with 7.2 months for Dutch buyers.

That gap appears to come from a different buying strategy rather than simply paying more. Expats were more likely to bid above asking price, with 77 per cent saying they had done so, compared with 70 per cent of Dutch buyers.

Expats bid more often, but not higher

The interesting part is what happens behind those bids. Although expats overbid more often, their average overbidding percentage was lower at 7.6 per cent, compared with 9.3 per cent for Dutch buyers.

At the same time, expats placed offers on more homes overall. On average, they bid on three different properties, while Dutch buyers bid on 2.3 homes. That points to a search process that is more active and possibly more disciplined, especially in a market where hesitation can cost you a property.

According to Andrew Aziz, expat specialist at Viisi Hypotheken, expats tend to be slightly more decisive than Dutch house-hunters. “They have to be because unlike Dutch buyers, they often cannot fall back on family and generally pay a higher monthly amount in rent. The lower overbidding percentage shows that they are not blindly going all-in, but are making a considered choice and informing themselves well.”

More expats use a buying agent

The survey also found that expats are more likely to bring in professional help. Sixty-one per cent said they used a buying agent during the purchase process, compared with 47 per cent of Dutch buyers.

That makes sense in a market like this. Many expats are still learning the Dutch language, local customs and the logic of a highly competitive housing market at the same time. Viisi says a buying agent can help with viewings, negotiations, communication with the seller and making sure the paperwork is in order.

The figures also show a sharper sense of financial pressure. More than one in six expats said they felt they were taking a serious financial risk with the purchase of their new home, compared with 14 per cent of Dutch buyers.

Expats are planning to stay

The research also challenges the familiar assumption that expats buy a home and then leave again within a few years. According to the barometer, around a third of expats expect to stay in their newly bought home for at least ten years.

Even more striking, 52 per cent of all expat respondents said they expect to remain in the Netherlands for more than twenty years. Another 40 per cent said they expect to move only after somewhere between six and ten years.

Aziz said: “The idea that expats buy a home only to leave again within a few years is simply not true. Most of them are in it for the long term, as our research clearly shows.”

Renovation and sustainability plans

That longer-term outlook also shows up in what buyers want to do with their homes after purchase. According to the survey, 46 per cent of expats said they want to renovate their property at some point, compared with 52 per cent of Dutch buyers.

On sustainability, the picture was more evenly split. Roughly a third of expats and a third of Dutch buyers said they want to make their home more sustainable immediately, a third said they do not, and a third said they do not yet know.

More information

Expat Barometer Q1 2026: https://www.viisi.nl/expatbarometer-q1-2026/