In a bid to address the housing crisis and free up larger homes for first time buyers and families, the UK Government is incentivising older people to downsize. Ministers have pledged to make it easier for pensioners to move into high-quality sheltered accommodation by increasing construction of new specialised housing and helping elderly home owners with the cost of moving and renovating or decorating.
This strategy forms part of the Government’s latest white paper on housing, which will also provide help to people renting property. According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, 2.6 million family homes could be made available on the market if older home owners chose to downsize.
Ministers acknowledge that people have a strong emotional attachment to their homes, and they have stressed that they have no intention of pressurising people to sell their properties against their will – it’s about providing more options. The aim is to stimulate the market by releasing much-needed family homes, ensuring older people have a good choice of suitable accommodation in which they can continue to live independently, and also reducing social care and health service costs.
Previous downsizing policies have failed because it’s too costly or people have not been offered an attractive alternative. If this new measure is to work, they need to build the right kind of housing that provides the same quality of lifestyle, also and remove the financial barriers that often discourage people to sell.
There is significant demographic change in the UK, with an increase in the elderly population. As a result, demand continues to outstrip supply in the housing market. Hopefully, this proposed strategy will make it easier for people who do wish to sell their large homes and downsize to a smaller property.
At Nicol Estate Agents, the demand for family homes is at its highest, and we continue to receive enquiries on a daily basis. We have a substantial list of registered buyers who are actively looking for houses with three to five bedrooms in the East Renfrewshire area. If you have a similar type of property and are thinking of selling in the near future, we would advise taking advantage of the strong property market by listing your home as soon as possible before the summer.
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