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Upsizing in retirement

ended 28. April 2024

Rachel Wait, Saga

Hi, I'm looking for any information and expert commentary about why it could pay to upsize, rather than downsize, in retirement. Specifically, I am after comment from:
- Housing developers -how much are housing developers having to cater to upsizing demands?
-Accessibility charities - what should people think about if they want to upsize but might need help in years to come to stay mobile?
-Energy experts – are bigger houses always less energy efficient?
- Estate agents - how many people over 50 are looking to move to a bigger home and how has this trend changed over the years?

Also looking for comment on:
- What does upsizing mean, with examples
- what are the main benefits?
- what should you be wary of? (cost, potentially needing a later life mortgage, cost of running bigger house, later accessibility needs, needing to move further out to get larger place, more land to tend to etc).
- How will the move be financed?
- Other things to consider (care home fees, inheritance, helping out children now if they’re struggling)

Note that this should be targeted at the over 50s.

1 responses from the Newspage community

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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
At or around their retirements both my own and my wife's parents chose to move. This wasn't so much to do with downsizing, the properties they moved to were of a similar or higher value than those they sold, but more to do with ease of movement and accessibility as they grew older. They were pre-planning for older age by ensuring that the properties they called home had step free access, where bungalows or apartments so they had no stairs to worry about climbing, and day-to-day maintenance would be less with smaller gardens for example. Neither moved for financial reasons, more to ensure that they had a home fit for purpose as they grew older and didn't have to worry about their home becoming an issue later down the line.