Older people are more likely to live alone, in larger homes that are expensive to heat and in need of repair. Why aren’t they moving?

Since Jackson-Stops started tracking enquiries from would-be downsizers just over a decade ago, their numbers have varied little. Given that downsizing is, for the most part, a phenomenon of later life (retired with no children at home) this looks surprising. A big increase in 2022 (16%) tempted us to think change was coming, only for a corresponding fall last year, to reveal that as another post-lockdown spasm. This largely static picture accords with national trends. From 2011 to 2021, a million-plus increase in the number of people aged 65+ was effectively matched by a corresponding increase in the number of older households. Some of these will have involved new purchases, but the numbers involved are too high for it to be many. For the most part, the current 6.9 million older households, are occupied by people who have simply stayed put. Of these:

• 75% are owned outright
• 86% are under-occupied 
• 62% are poorly insulated (EPC of D or below)
• 15% (i.e. well above average) fail to meet the basic Decent Homes Standard

Owners who downsize, thus stand to benefit from a higher quality, lower maintenance home with lower heating bills and fewer unused rooms. Coupled with, in the Home Counties at least, a typical £400,000 price difference, the incentives look strong. So what is causing older owners to hold back from moving? Talking both to those who have taken the plunge and to some who have not, four key points emerge.

The happiest downsizers moved early, to a less expensive area
The move here, is as often to outside a school catchment area or commuting zone, as to, say, deepest Norfolk or Devon. Either way, better value makes it easier to get enough space of high quality and low running costs and still have a good nest egg left over. Clients who began planning such a move early – some in anticipation of retirement – say they saw the whole thing not as a chore, but as an exciting start to their ‘Third Age’. That said, it’s noticeably more exciting when it’s financially exciting, too.

Money is the biggest motivator
Across the country, near-identical percentag​​​​​​​​​​​​​​e differences between average detached and semi-detached house prices ignore a brutal tr​​​​​​​uth: in Sunderland, that difference will be worth about £120,000. In Surrey, it is more likely to be £500,000. Even without interest, spending all of such a ​​​​​​​sum at £2,000 every month, would take over 20 years. Move to a less expensive area (see previous point) and the financial benefit will be even greater. Stay where you are (see next point), and you might hit a different problem.

Inability to see somewhere to move to, is the biggest deterrent
For those keen to stay in the same part of town or village, this is often the obstacle they cannot see past. Suitable properties appear to never come up for sale, so owners decide to wait for the market to ‘free up a little’ which, for reasons explained in the panel over​​​​​​​leaf (Vacant Homes), never happens.

Overcoming this gridlock requires a more proactive approach. For would-be downsizer clients of Jackson-Stops, this can involve keeping a watching brief and using long-standing contacts to match buyers with sellers, sometimes cutting out the open market altogether. Occasionally, other options are revealed, such as separating out part of the client’s existing home to create lettable, income-generating accommodation. Where the garden is large enough, the ideal solution might be possible: build the smaller, modern home you want, on your land. Irrespective of the answer, the lesson here is to consider your options and make plans, not delay.

It’s never too late
In the course of our work, we get to meet a great many people who, well into their eighties and even nineties, retain their energy and zest for life. Few, though, would argue that they had more energy a decade earlier. Feeling “unable to face the whole process, even though I should” is a common reason for elderly owners to hold back. Are they right to do so? Much depends upon the original reasons for considering it in the first place and their underlying cause. From our perspective, whether you opt to move or not, making it an active choice, tends to make owners happier in tackling whatever follows as a result. Downsizers who have made the move, talk of benefits such as convenience and freedom from the worries of maintenance and high bills, along with the pleasure of “things working well” (including basics such as windows and doors). In the end though, most of these come back to money. And where the attraction of downsizing is, at root, financial then, in times of higher inflation, interest rates, energy prices and council tax – not to mention the possibility of so-called mansion taxes – that attraction will only get stronger.