There are 3.3 million UK homeowners aged 55+ who are looking to move into a smaller property in the future, new research by financial services group Legal & General and economics consultancy Cebr shows.
There are 5.3 million under-occupied properties held by older homeowners, according to the so-called Last-Time Buyer study.
Last-time buyers across the country own 7.7 million spare bedrooms and their housing wealth currently totals £820 billion. This is set to reach £1.2 trillion in 2020.
Almost a third of older homeowners considered downsizing in the last five years but only 7 per cent actually did. The majority (58 per cent) postponed it until they were over 70 and a quarter waited until their 80th birthday or later.
A typical last-time buyer lives in a four-bedroom house, but would prefer to occupy a two-bedroom property, the study revealed.
Stephen Smith, director of mortgage club & housing at Legal & General, comments:
“We currently have a housing crisis in the UK and there is a chronic shortage of appropriate properties to meet this huge demand. Government policy is focused on schemes to build more homes for first-time buyers and to help people get onto the property ladder. Initiatives like Help to Buy which encourage the building of more homes are always very welcome. However, at present, the LTB market is being hugely overlooked and as our figures show it could help to solve the UK housing crisis.”
“We need to make it easier for older people to even consider moving by relieving the onerous burden of stamp duty, creating better options for equity release and providing real alternatives for older people in terms of the types of home that they can live in and the infrastructure that surrounds them. If we are able to get that right we will help older people in the UK move to homes which better fit their lifestyles and their needs and at the same time unlock large swathes of valuable housing stock for growing families.”
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