One in five home owners would make substantial savings if they switched to a new mortgage to take advantage of low interest rates, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday.

The average saving would be around €1,300 a year, mortgage website owner Thomas de Leeuw told the paper. This is equivalent to €900m spread across all 3.5 million mortgages held by Dutch home owners, the FD says.

Making the switch depends on a number of factors including the value of the property, the difference in interest rates and the fine the current mortgage provider will levy.

‘It takes a lot of time for mortgage advisors to calculate if it is worth making changes,’ Jeroen van Hessen of Munt Hypotheken told the paper. ‘If it makes sense to switch, clients will pay for advice. But if it is more sensible to do nothing, it is difficult for agents to charge a fee.’

Since 2013, mortgage advisors have been banned from accepting commission and have to charge clients an advisory fee instead.

However, market leader De Hypotheker said the calculations do not have to take a long time. ‘The number of changeovers in the first quarter of this year is up 80% on a year ago,’ spokeswoman Jill Aalders said.