Only a fifth of people have said they intend to downsize in their retirement, with the top reason being that they’re simply too attached to their homes.
According to research by investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, those nearing retirement age are even less inclined to have downsizing plans.
Amongst those aged 45 to 54, only 17 per cent said they would move to a smaller house, while this dropped further to 14 per cent among 55 to 64-year-olds.
This is despite house prices rising quickly in the past year, with bigger homes benefitting most, meaning downsizers could have more money to buy a smaller home.
However, those moving from larger homes in the countryside or on the edge of towns might find the difference eroded by higher prices closer to town centres, and while 20 per cent said they would downsize, another 38 per cent said they wouldn’t and 42 per cent were uncertain.
People usually purchase a less expensive home in retirement and use the money from the sale of their old home to top up their pension income, help out their family financially or just enjoy their retirement.
Those in the best position to downsize are people who’ve paid off their mortgage, or a substantial chunk of it, as they can use the money from the sale to purchase their next home mortgage-free.
However, more people are now struggling to pay off their homes before they retire, and it can also be hard to remortgage once they’ve reached a specific age.
According to the Hargreaves Lansdown survey, financial worries also weigh on people’s decision not to downsize, and about one in ten didn’t think they would make enough money from downsizing, whilst almost a quarter said it would be too costly.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said that the financial reality might not be as positive as the fantasy, with the costs of moving taking a lump out of their proceeds, leaving them with far less than they expected.
However, the most quoted reason why the respondents didn’t want to live somewhere smaller was that they were too attached to their home, which 28 per cent claimed.
Helen Morrissey added when you’ve won the race for space, it’s extremely difficult to give up, and she said that massive house price growth makes the prospect of downsizing in retirement tempting but on closer inspection, it’s clear not many people are convinced.
Countless people have worked all their life whilst bringing up a family, so they’re not going to live in a tiny flat to pay thousands in service charges.
Their homes are where they’ve brought their children up and have all their memories. What they should be doing is picking on the elite with their many homes.
But then I guess the majority of people are going to be made to downsize shortly as there’s a dire need for bigger homes so that migrants can live in them and where they get permission to bring their huge families.
It’s more like forced relocation, and if you have a nice four-bedroom house that a family of migrants needs, then out you go!
We’re being farmed, and once you see what they’re doing you’ll realise that they’re going to be doing it everywhere, but why should the people of this country be made to sell up and live in a shoebox?
And why would anyone in their right mind want to move when their house is all paid up and done up, you know your neighbour’s et cetera, and you have a garden, honestly, why would you want to move? I can think of no reason whatsoever unless of course, you want to move to somewhere in the sun.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 