All old people should sell up family homes for families.

Moving is a colossal hassle even when you’re young a fit - it’s no wonder if a lot of older people don’t want to do it, especially if they’re not rattling around in a 5 bed Georgian rectory with a morning room, tennis court, and room for a pony.

And they older people get, the less likely they are to want all the hassle, never mind the expense. I know of at least one very elderly couple who should in theory have moved somewhere several years ago, but they were already frail so someone else would have had to manage the whole thing for them.

Plus, I’m quite sure that the sheer unfamiliarity of everything in a new home would have thrown them - even things like a different oven, taps turning a different way, and the loo in the ‘wrong’ place, would hasten their decline - when with everything so long-familiar before they were managing pretty OK.

But can families actually afford to buy all these newly vacated properties?

It depends on prices surely? A glut of supply may depress prices although I would be very conscious of taking on a big property as I think essential bills eg energy are only going to get more expensive.

People often talk about this, it isn't a right actually own a house, it is a relatively new phenomenon.

Meanwhile, where I live the catchment area of the local primary has changed hugely in the last 20 years because the area it used to serve, where all the young families once lived in decent sized family homes, no longer have any school aged children in them.

This is a big issue, in London the rolls are forecasted to drop significantly. It's bad news as funding is based on headcount.

But can families actually afford to buy all these newly vacated properties?

My parents had to downsize when Dad retired (aged 80) from a four bedroom house with a garden to a two bed flat without a garden. It was what they could afford. They really missed their garden.

That’s Illogical. There is no shortage of large homes. Anyone who can afford one can have one. Making old people exit won’t suddenly mean folks who can’t afford them now can. It just means those old people with more money will drive the prices up of the small affordable homes.

I can’t see how anyone could make this work. We two, in our fifties, have a 4bed house which gives us a bedroom, a spare room and an office each. We both are looking forward to a retirement where we have plenty of money to pay people to do the things we can’t as we age, and can use the space in our home to do things we enjoy, rather than things we have to; both have hobbies which require space and protection from noise for our neighbours. No children, so we don’t care if we spend all our money on paying people to look after the house and garden and us, when and if needed. That helps the local economy, and maintains the condition of our home for the time when we do decide to sell it (which won’t be until one or both of us is dead).

Added to which, none of the families I know locally could afford to buy this house if we put it on the market. We would be taking up a smaller house that younger people could afford, and leaving our current house to be bought by someone from outside the area probably very like ourselves. Unless the people advocating for this measure decide to control market forces as well, they wouldn’t be able to make it work.

There should be incentives offered for people to choose to downsize. I wish more people would do it.

I know too many young families cooped up in one and two bed flats who are unable to move. Families who have decided not to/postponed having any more children because they do not have the space. Meanwhile, where I live the catchment area of the local primary has changed hugely in the last 20 years because the area it used to serve, where all the young families once lived in decent sized family homes, no longer have any school aged children in them.

Even if they did sell though, the price would be totally unaffordable for most working families. There is a huge wealth gap. I know a family who had a very good sized house (both earn £££). They had trouble selling it, but in the end the people buying it are a young child free couple whose parents are buying the house for them as a gift in cash (well over 7 figures...). There is also a new development near me. I read in the paper that a couple had bought two next door townhouses for their primary aged daughters as an investment. They are 800k each!

Our property market, like most things, is really very broken.

Makes no odds. We aren't lacking family homes on the open market, we're lacking accessible properties - ground floor flats, bungalows etc - for people with mobility issues.

If I won the massive Euromillions pot, I'd be setting up a construction company to specialise in the creation of 1 and 2 bed bungalows and nothing else. In an ideal world, I'd also set it up as a housing association.

That policy would just mean that older cash buyers would outbid young couples on smaller homes. The younger couples wouldn't be able to afford the 4 bedroom houses the older people have just vacated, so they'd be in a worse position.

Thinking of the older people I know who live in homes that are technically too big for them — 3 and four bed detached homes, sometimes in quiet areas with nice big gardens — where do you think they would want to downsize to? Flats, where they have to deal with the noise of having people living in close proximity? I visited neighbours who downsized to a two-bedroom flat in a 'nice' development near here and encountered a topless elderly lady in a corridor (she's developed dementia, has no family and there's no one to look after her) and the smell of cigarette smoke leaking under doors and into shared spaces. When I parked the car I could hear radios and TVs blaring from various flats. It was a hot day and the windows were open and it was really noisy. Why would anyone trade a quiet detached house for that if they didn't have to?

I agree with the point you are making OP. These things are easy to say won't necessarily work in practice.

We could downsize when the DC leave home but we are in 4 bed that is well situated for public transport, doctors, shops etc. which is exactly what we will need when we get older. There aren't many good options to downsize to in the area as I don't want to lose having a garden. The other side of the equation is who is likely to buy our house - a four bed house in London is not going to be bought by a first time buyer and who will we be competing with for the smaller properties bearing in mind we would be cash buyers.

I would like to give another perspective! I currently live in a 4 HA property, i only have two of four dc still at home who will both be moving out within the next 5 years. I would happily downsize to a smaller two bed property with a much smaller garden but it would mean swapping my lifetime tenancy for one of the newer 7 year tenancies and also instead of pay the old style cheaper rent I would be paying a much higher " affordable rent"! Who the hell in their right mind is going to give up a secure lifetime tenancy and pay more in rent for a smaller property? I most certainly wouldn't!

I can't imagine not sharing what I have with the people I love and hanging onto it until the tax man takes 40% and the rest goes on care home fees.

The trouble with that attitude is that if everyone does that where does the funding for the care come from? Why should a care worker have a shitty wage & no hope of owning so that someone else can inherit as much as possible?

This always annoys me as for years we have used my parents 'spare' rooms for 4-6 weeks every summer when we visit home from overseas and they use the 'spare' bedrooms for grandchildren to stay and even more importantly now that my dad has early Alzheimer's he is much more comfortable in his familiar surroundings than when visiting other homes - if he had moved a few years ago he would be so confused by his new surroundings

DH and I are looking at this now.

Right now I'm retired, DH is still working, we want to stay in the area we have community connections and support and where we are still contributing . If we downsize now it would be from 4 bed to 3 bed, and the costs/upheaval etc just don't make any financial sense.

The tentative plan is to downsize when we really need to - which probably won't be for another 15 years.

That said, my mum used to look at all the new housing being built and wonder why on earth there was such need (she assumed it was because immigration was high, and was happy with that). I did point out to her that at well over 90 she really should be dead/in a care home/in sheltered housing or in other ways not occupying a nice 3 bed family home near a good school.

You legitimately buy your asset you have no right to be stripped of it.

Now the argument is those in lifetime tenancies who under occupy their social housing.

No, your home is your home and if you want to continue living there you should not be forced to just because it has a bit extra space

What about if I had the money to and purchased a large 4 bed house to live in all by myself? At age 30. Should I be told to move out as well because I'm over occupying or am I entitled to whatever I purchase

Even with council housing and housing association I don't believe people should be forced out, especially not those who are working

Also can't believe I have just read a reply here that young people expect everything handed to them 🤦🏼‍♀️complete ignorance

Unfortunately, as we age so do our friends. I meet many older people where all of their friends have died. In London, the elderly can be surrounded by people but be completely alone. A retirement flat can be a cheaper and more sociable option. They have other people are of a similar age, activities are run, ( one in my area has a weekly physio, arts classes etc) there is secured access, bills such as cheaper compared to running a 4 bed house. Plus there are often wardens, fall alarms etc.

Downsizing before it becomes critical for care purposes is a very sensible idea.

I do agree with this, I've seen too many older relatives/family friends who put it off & then they are too late & end up a bit trapped.

In my road, when old people move out the houses are usually snapped up by student landlords, not families...

When my parents pass away I will inherit their fairly ordinary 3 bedroom 70s house. That’s the only way I will ever own a property. When I pass away it will go to my daughter. If she has children it can go to them and so on and on.Isn’t that the whole point of owning a property ?

You can only afford a property if you inherit, what about those that won't? At least we used to have more social housing.

WHY?

We brought up our children to become independent responsible adults like us.

We worked hard to make them strong and healthy, well socialised, We made sure they went to school on time, did their homework, learnt to read, swim, drive, cook, clean, organise, manage a budget, chose a career and went to work to support themselves.

We didn't pay for their mortgage deposits or weddings, never bought them a car, we didn't repay their student loans, they did all that themselves (like we did)
By middle age they all earn higher incomes than we live on, they have bought their own homes, paid off their own mortgages, invested their own money.

My mum and dad are moving, only because even with the adjustments they have put in place they now can’t get around the house due to health issues :( they are moving to a flat and I am very worried how my dad will cope without his garden :(

Downsizing before it becomes critical for care purposes is a very sensible idea.

My Ddad (75) has a 3 bed house with no downstairs loo, should either him or Stepmother have any issues they'll find themselves in the excat place MIL did when Step FiL suddenly became ill. With a large human body stuck upstairs and her unable to move him round. He died and she's now living downstairs as she hates the "sick room". Won't move though.
My DMum however at 70 sold the family home and had a lovely 2 bed flat by the sea. She feels safer and more confident and freed up some cash to spoil herself with.