Do downsizers ever downsize?

[NewbieOnHolidays]

We’ve seen so many detached family houses with husband and wife in their 50-60s (kids grew up and left), so now just 2 people living on 200+ sq.m. They all say they want to downsize, put house on the market at an astronomical price and fail to get offers anywhere close to asking and then just take it off the market. So once again a house came up, after 3 weeks they managed to get about 10 people who wanted to view, did an open day, we put an offer below asking, were now told there were 5 offers with 3 above asking, so they rejected our offer. We’ve been in this boat so many times and it always end up same way: we compete against non existent buyers who are very keen, offer way above asking, then we see the house keeps staying on the market or just disappears without sstc. Same street couple of months ago after 3 rounds of best an final competing against “many interested couples” and upping our offer every time we just got fed up and walked away, in few weeks sellers took it off the market. Do downsizers ever downsize?

It's clearly very wrong to have streets of older people, living alone, or as a couple, in large properties, when young people either can't afford to buy a house to start a family, or families are living cramped in a tiny flat. Anyone with any basic morals and decency can see that.

And anyone with basic maths skills can work out that if young people can’t afford to buy a house, it doesn’t matter if older people won’t sell them.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow bang on correct. I have just popped in a cafe in Godalming and picked up the property porn magazine. There are zillions of lovely houses in the Surrey hills in this mag £700k upwards. It isn't a lack of things for younger families to buy it's a lack of realistically affordable family homes to buy. The problem isn't a lack of anything- it's a lack of anything at realistic prices relative to average incomes unless you have a ton of equity already or inheritances- and most of that is with older families and couples

There are zillions of lovely houses in the Surrey hills in this mag £700k.
Maybe the problem is everyone wanting to live in one corner of the UK?

Plenty 5 bed houses round here for under £400k

@YourLittleSecret I don't disagree and that's great - but for many their families and friends are in the SE and if everyone moved where you are then there suddenly wouldn't be- as is very noticeable in some nicer areas in the NW and round Bristol and Bath

Actually am now in Guildford and there are a lot of good 3 and4 bed semis in the villages at £500k to £700k in agentsxwindows - still expensive- but not a shortage. As I said before , unless you have a lot of equity, can get a massive mortgage or an inheritance then the main issue is prices (in most nicer areas) - and that doesn't help many younger families even if the more mature amongst us downsized-

Downsizing doesn't necessarily mean releasing capital. We are empty nesters in our 50s and downsized in 2019 from a 4 bed house to a 2 bed bungalow as we didn't want to move again in our later years. Sold to a lovely young family with 4 kids. The bungalow cost us £60k more than what we sold for plus the stamp duty and refurb costs so we had to take on a mortgage. The move was an investment for our future, not a way of greedily making money.

Downsizing and hoping to release capital isn’t ‘greedily making money’. People have all sorts of valid reasons for wanting to release capital, quite often so that they can give it away to help their own children with housing. I don’t see how that’s greedy.

When downsizing doesn’t release any money because of the costs of marketing, moving, tax, and then needing to redecorate, people who are happy in their homes have no incentive to do it, no matter how perfect their house would be for a young family. No one is going to reduce the value of their biggest asset for the sake of strangers.

Can those people moaning about older people staying in their houses even afford the mortgage on one of them?

This has been a really interesting thread. I actually spent ages on Rightmove looking at what I could afford mortgage free, we’re within the last 5 years of our mortgage. I’d be looking at around £100k cheaper and there is nothing nice, zero incentive to move

The othering of older people and the blatant ageism on Mumsnet is just shocking.

Do people not realise the emotional toll leaving a home you've raised your children in, lived in for 40years, lost your husband in, would be? Why shouldn't people be entitled to live for as long as they want in a home they have paid for?

I suspect a future government will try to incentivise downsizing. Probably not the Tories given their core voters demographics.

We are looking at £1.2-1.4m houses and have over 40% to put as a deposit, looking at 10 mile radius on rightmove, not tied to schools as kids are in private schools with good school bus network and have had little luck in the past 2.5 years, still cramped into a tiny flat

So we put an offer slightly below asking (the price was very fair for the condition in which the house was and recent transactions around the area) on one of “downsizers” houses, our offer was rejected, agent said there were 5 offers, 3 over asking. One months on and the house is still up for sale on rightmove, doubt there was anyone else offering, agent just bluffs

Why shouldn't they pay stamp duty? They have benefited from the rise in prices.

The majority of these people purchased 30 years ago for tuppence haypenny.

They tend to also think the property is "immaculate" when it's clean and tidy but hasn't had anything done in 20 years.

I completely agree with OP. The houses go on the market with no realistic chance of sale.

buying and selling houses is very emotional for some people. I have done it three times and there are dithers, time wasters and awkward people in all categories.

however there is nothing wrong with someone or be rejecting your offer.

i think you need to stop making it so personal. When I sold my last house it fell through three times so was on and off the market like a yo-yo! I am not in the demographic that you are targeting here - but if i was twenty years older you would probably assume this was entirely down to me being a downsizer!

I think you just need to accept this will be difficult and roll with the punches.

or only bid houses owned by people under 60 - if you think these issues are exclusively caused by the age of the seller.

Why shouldn't they pay stamp duty? They have benefited from the rise in prices

They will pay, they just choose not to and stay in their houses.

OP, with a budget like that, your problem can’t simply be pensioners refusing to downsize.

Even if it were, the responses on her have shown valid reasons why that might happen. People put their house on the market genuinely hoping to downsize but find that they have the same problem as you in that nothing suitable is available, or their realise it doesn’t make financial sense. A properly half the size doesn’t cost half the price, and may well cost the same as the property already being occupied by the time tax is paid.

Why shouldn't they pay stamp duty? They have benefited from the rise in prices.
The majority of these people purchased 30 years ago for tuppence haypenny.

Where’s the benefit? I’m genuinely asking because I’m struggling to see it. They paid what their house cost at the time they bought it, and as all the other properties have risen in price too and any profit wouldn’t be realised until sale anyway, what benefit have they gained? They still need somewhere to live.

Well it’s not a new phenomena or one exclusive to those wishing to upsize.
30 years ago, a newly engaged couple wanted to buy my house - already on the market at a lower rate due to wanting a quick sale. They wanted me to drop the price by £10k and leave all the furniture etc as they didn’t have enough to get the £75k mortgage. (Similar properties were getting £85k) Apparently I had made enough money on the property and should be making way for the younger generation. They even sent one of their mums around to plead with me to give them this helping hand in life.
I was only in my late 20s……….no I didn’t sell to them.

people have granny expectations at all stages of life and towards anyone who they think somehow owes them something.

Downsized properties aren’t cheaper, necessarily. They are often more expensive than family houses, because there’s a premium on bungalows (rare and land-hungry). I would like to live on one level, but the closest bungalow to me recently sold for £2 million.That had four bedrooms. Flats can have exorbitant service charges, which people on a pension or fixed income and no way to increase their income need to be mindful of and won’t necessarily be able to afford. Most flats won’t have a garden.

Actually finding a downsize property is near impossible - they all been renovated and converted into 4 bed 5 bath titchy garden no garage space - as it’s the third reception room now, behemoths. (And by those supposedly wanting to move up to a bigger house 🤬)