Some 2.4 million[1] over 55s in the UK are actively thinking about downsizing their property and when they do so hope to add, on average, £63,572 to their savings, according to new research from Audley Villages.
For those who expect to gain money from downsizing, some 60% of over 55s, two fifths (43%) plan to use the money to support their own lifestyle, 41% want to fund holidays and 39% will use the funds to make improvements to the new home they move into. A fifth (22%) plan to spend money helping loved ones with their ambitions to get on the property ladder with £63,572 providing what would be a sizeable deposit for many UK homes.
But the pandemic has undoubtedly had an impact on the timing of people’s downsizing plans. Of the 2.4 million over 55s thinking about downsizing, 13% have sped up plans as they reconsider how and where they want to live as they get older. But for nearly a quarter (23%) of potential downsizers their thoughts on moving have been put on the back burner because of the pandemic and other priorities coming to the fore.
Looking at the motivations behind the decision to downsize. Two thirds (60%) of over 55s want to do so to live a property that is more suitable to their changing needs, 49% want to reduce the amount of maintenance they do to their property and 44% want to cut down costs. A quarter (26%) want to move to a better location and for 21% it’s the need to release money to meet the cost of everyday living.
It has been rumoured that the Government will look at announcing initiatives to support downsizers but the research findings point to the main issue being a lack of options. A fifth (22%) of over 55s say the greatest incentive would be help finding the perfect property option. This outweighs the 20% who think there should be a stamp duty exemption for downsizers and those that think there should be a financial incentive (20%) when they downsize such as a £1,000 one-off gift.
Nick Sanderson, CEO, Audley Group commented: “The reasons why people choose to downsize are vast and often varied. Having access to care, removing the burden of looking after a large family home or releasing money to spend on their own lifestyles or support loved ones are all things that we hear regularly.
“Regardless of the motivations the message from the research is clear. The single greatest incentive to support downsizing is giving people more support to find the perfect property. And to do this there has to be more choice, in more locations. This needs to happen quickly because the pressures of our ageing population are not abating. By 2030, the number of over 65s in the UK is projected to total over 15m, which is 2.4m more than today. This means the construction of housing with care properties needs to accelerate, and do so quickly.
“At the start of the year the government announced the creation of the Housing with Care taskforce with the aim of improving the number of housing options for people as they get older. This is the first step on the journey to delivering more options to people, but we can’t afford for any feet to be dragged on the way. Change has to start now.”
Image depicts Nick Sanderson, Audley Group CEO