Beginner tool · Goldie
The Real Cost of a House
“The price on the board isn't what a house costs. Add the interest, the years of upkeep, and the growth your deposit gives up — and the real number can be two or three times the sticker. Let's see yours.”
— Goldie
🏠 What this home really costs over 30 years
€1,278,963
That's about 3.2× the sticker price.
Monthly mortgage payment: €1,528
Where the money really goes
Roofs, boilers, paint, taxes — a rule of thumb is about 1% of the home's value every year.
A broad world index has averaged around 7% a year long-run. This is what your locked-up deposit gives up.
🔍 How this is calculated · sources
Every figure is a standard, sourced calculation — here's exactly how:
- Interest — a normal fixed-rate mortgage on the loan (price − deposit). The loan fully pays off over the term; total interest = every payment minus the amount borrowed.
- Maintenance — 1% of the home's value per year — the widely-used rule of thumb (range 1–4%; 1% suits newer, well-kept homes). Adjustable above.
- Opportunity cost — what your deposit could have earned if invested instead, at ~7%/yr (a broad world index's long-run average). It's growth given up, not cash spent.
- Mortgage rate — 4% by default — around the current Dutch average (2025).
Deliberately conservative: it leaves out property tax and insurance (small in the Netherlands), and — as noted above — a home also builds equity and may rise in value, while renting isn't free either.
Sources: Fannie Mae (maintenance), Curvo (index returns), DNB (NL mortgage rates), Unlock (true cost method).
⚠️ Educational only — not financial advice. Illustrative: interest uses a standard fixed-rate mortgage; maintenance is a flat yearly % of the price; opportunity cost is what the down payment could have earned at the growth rate shown. It ignores home appreciation, tax effects and rent avoided — real situations vary. Talk to a licensed advisor.