1.5 million people hope to downsize

Nearly 1.5 million people over the age of 65 will look to downsize their home in the next 5 years.

30% of home owners over 65 want to find a more suitable home to meet their needs as they get older, whether it’s because they are looking for something smaller, something without stairs, or because they need to be closer to family or in a less isolated area. 42% are worried about bills and 17% say their house is too big for their needs.

Dean Mirfin, Chief Product Officer at Key Retirement, commented that ‘Downsizing should make financial sense for older home owners as it releases money to pay for retirement and it also should make sense for the property market as a whole as it frees up bigger houses. Pensioners are sitting on property wealth of more than £1 trillion which could significantly improve their standard of living in retirement and helping them make the best use of that money would boost their finances and the economy as a whole.’

Down-sizing provides a great opportunity to release capital and also removes the burden of maintaining a large house and garden. New housing stock is released onto the market that’s perfect for growing families who are looking for more space, many of whom want to take on the challenge of modernising a property. Jamie Smart, Director of smarthomes commented ‘We take on about 10 – 12 new instructions every month from people looking to down-size and these types of properties are snapped up by the younger generation who love the spaciousness and potential of these older homes.’