A third of over-55 year olds have considered downsizing A third of over-55 year olds have considered downsizing in the last five years The issue of selling the family home is often fraught with emotion, so often the home we live in is a vessel for memories and parting has far more than financial gain as a consideration. RICS is calling on Government to expand the nation’s housing supply across all sectors – from owner occupied, social housing and private rented sectors – through their new Residential Policy Paper. Recommendations include: Older homeowners should receive greater support to transition into retirement or smaller properties, releasing £820billion of property assets or 2.6 million family homes. RICS cite approximately a third of over-55 year olds have considered downsizing in the last five years, but only seven per cent completed. When making that heart wrenching decision to sell-up a few point to consider are: The trade off? The old adage ‘you can’t buck the market’ rings true with the UK property market, in order to gain when downsizing it’ll mean probably moving to a much smaller property, perhaps moving to a less valuable area. It’s important to look closely at the market value of your asset and factor in the considerable costs involved in both buying and selling houses. Often when all considerations are budgeted for the gains can diminish significantly. Rightmove have a useful calculation tool for the basics, to this we may add such things as removals, storage, further legal/professional fees. Rightmove Musical chairs-Estate agents adore ‘qualified buyers’ the best example of which is a buyer motivated to move having already sold their home and cash in the bank. Being in this position will certainly put you in the drivers’ seat as far as purchasing goes however as the market moves you may find your capital being eroded by renting/accommodation fees or a market which heats –up again? Downsizing can also involve moving in with the kids, the motivation for this often being to assist the family financially. As life expectancy climbs living longer lives has further implications -moving at for example 70 years old may mean occupying the ‘Granny flat’ for decades to come-food for thought? ‘A place in the sun’ The vogue for retiring to sunnier climates seems to be returning and a move to say Spain for example would offer considerable buying power. A few points to take into consideration should be healthcare costs, moving and legal fees, missing the grand children and if you don’t keep a UK property would it be financially possible to buy one ever again. Richard Dyson from the Daily Telegraph wrote:This is why older couples don’t want to downsize Comment: Older homeowners, quite reasonably, aren’t swapping their bigger homes for smaller ones – this is why: Article contact @the-boomers.com THE SMALL PRINT We hope you are enjoying the site, please note The –Boomers site has been prepared solely for information purposes. Users are advised to seek independent financial advice or in the case of health related content –consult your GP or medical professional. All information, opinions expressed on the The-Boomers are current as of the date of publication, but may become out of date over time. No liability and/or guarantee of performance is accepted or offered. The opinions expressed in The-Boomers do not constitute investment advice or health advice or any other form of advice; independent advice should be sought where appropriate. Articles are supplied strictly without accepting any liability, responsibility or duty of care for their services, content, or links to other subsequent related or unrelated material. The Site contains general information only and does not take into account the individual health issues /objectives or the individual financial situation/objectives or needs of a person or persons. Please see our Terms & Conditions for further information.
