Does the word 'downsizing' put you off moving to a smaller house? Tony Watts argues that the nation needs to rethink its approach when it comes to freeing up houses for younger generations.
Tony Watts OBE
Forget downsizing... What we really want is 'rightsizing'
Posted on: Thu 21-Apr-16 12:03:35
(43 comments )
If you missed last autumn's screaming headlines in the Daily Mail let me remind you: "Anger as watchdog tells OAPs to downsize to tackle housing shortage". Not surprisingly, the headlines don't tell half the story. But when have facts ever got in the way of a good headline?
What was actually said by Lynda Blackwell, Mortgage Sector Manager of the Financial Conduct Authority was this: "Does there need to be thought given to how we build more appropriate housing for retired people in the right places."
Most of us would agree: the housing market in this country is broken, with too few new starts, rents soaring and a large chunk of the younger generation priced out of ownership.
So how can the nation's older generation help? After all, they are regularly portrayed as the golden generation, sitting on over a trillion pounds worth of assets, blocking the hopes and dreams of younger people.
Not surprisingly, in a recent survey of subscribers to a retirement site, one third listed downsizing as one of their planned future options in order to release an average of 33% of its value: a sizeable amount. So, the will is there.
The problem is that not only are precious few new 'retirement housing' units being built for the private sector (less than 2,000 in 2014, expected to top 4,000 in 2015), but not everyone wants to live in a retirement complex anyway.
So how can the nation's older generation help? After all, they are regularly portrayed as the golden generation, sitting on over a trillion pounds worth of assets, blocking the hopes and dreams of younger people.
Last year, I ran a housing workshop with older people in Yorkshire; here are just a few of the top line observations from a very knowledgeable group of people.
- Many of us want to remain local to our existing communities and support network
- All homes should be built to lifetime standards that allows them to continue to be used by everyone when their mobility reduces and so age in place
- Housing isn't just about bricks and mortar – but communities. We need to design communities, places, not just new houses
- We don't want to live in shoeboxes… We need two bedrooms, we may want access to a garden and we often want to keep our pets
- We need more choice to rent privately as well as part own
-Our homes are our key capital asset, but we need more choice on how we tap into that asset to enjoy a more comfortable retirement.
Against this backdrop, downsizing sounds so negative: couldn't we describe it as 'rightsizing' and make it aspirational?
If we are going to live for much longer than ever before, we need to prepare. Not only do we need age friendly housing, that we can stay in and remain independent, but communities should be age friendly too…places where we can get about easily and safely: surely we have allowed cars to reign for too long in our towns, villages and cities.
One of the main points made by the Yorkshire discussion was the need for a greater choice of financial options – not least to those wanting to remain in their own home and repair/refurbish it, or to move to a part ownership property and release funds.
Disinterested expert guidance on an individual's finances after any move is also essential: how much you can afford to spend and/or release – and still have a comfortable retirement and/or put aside capital to pay for any care in years to come.
For most of us, our home is our key capital asset, locking away vast sums of money. Arguably, the British preoccupation with home ownership does not necessarily benefit the economy – tellingly, Germany and Switzerland have far lower rates of home ownership than us.
But that's the subject for another day…
Tony Watts, OBE is Chairman of the South West Forum on Ageing, one of nine English Forums on Ageing that help share the views, knowledge and experience of older people with Government departments (local and national), public service providers and some private sector organisations too.