Home is where the heart is and when you’ve spent many years in the same house, it can be difficult to consider the idea of relocating somewhere else.
So how do you know when is the right time to downsize from your family home?
There are a lot of little clues along the way and in this article, we take a look at some of the most common reasons that GemLife homeowners have shared with us.
How many of these resonate with you?
When Do Most People Choose to Downsize?
According to an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute 2020 survey, 26% of Australians over the age of 55 have downsized and another 29% are considering it.
One of the main reasons cited for downsizing (or at least thinking about it) was the opportunity for reduced home and garden maintenance, followed by financial considerations.
The survey also revealed that senior Australians wanting to downsize didn’t want to live in a shoebox either. A second bedroom, at a minimum, was essential for use as a study, craft room or a guest bedroom – for either adult visitors or visiting grandchildren.
The average age of retirement village residents is 81 years but a whole decade younger (71 years) for retiree Australians who elect to live in an over-50s lifestyle resort.
So, why the difference?
The reasons vary, but one significant reason is lifestyle considerations. Active over 50s – some of whom are still in the workforce – are looking for an improved lifestyle with ready access to luxury resort facilities with security when they travel. If you’re already considering making the change, knowing how to downsize for retirement, is the logical next step.
Learn more about downsizing for pensioners here.
What Are Your Downsizing Options?
The first thing that automatically comes to mind, is that people think being over 50 and downsizing equals moving into a retirement village.
And when people first begin their search, it leads them down a rabbit hole of new terms and new housing concepts including:
- Freehold retirement villages
- Strata titled retirement villages
- Loan and lease retirement villages
- Land lease communities
And then there are costs to factor in that don’t occur in a standard home purchase contract including:
- Entry fees
- Exit fees
- Deferred management fees
- Capital gains fees
- On-going management fees
There is a lot to unpack with so much to understand.
Learn more about choosing the right retirement living option here.
7 Signs It’s The Right Time to Downsize
When is the right time to downsize? Ultimately it is up to you to make that call, but the goal is to gear up for a happy retirement, not a stressful one.
The decision to sell a family-sized home is an intensely personal one and it needs to make sense practically, financially and emotionally.
If you’re over 50, there are other factors to consider as well – do you consider downsizing before retirement or afterwards? What are the pros and cons of each choice?
Below, we’ve listed the seven most common signs that may indicate that downsizing could be the right decision for you.
1. Home Maintenance Is Getting Overwhelming
After a while, the countless hours spent cleaning the house, servicing the pool, doing battle with gardens and the endless mowing takes more time and energy than you wish to expend.
That’s not to mention that older homes require greater levels of maintenance and repair to keep them in good order – and that can be expensive.
In the end, the decision comes down whether your time is better spent doing the things you’d prefer to do, instead of the things you have to do.
If maximising your leisure time with friends and family, enjoying sporting and fitness activities or getting reacquainted with long neglected hobbies sounds more appealing than house and garden maintenance, then it might be time to downsize.
Look at buying a new home in a retirement community that offers plenty of facilities with on-site management to takes care of all the garden and facility maintenance.
2. Your Home No Longer Fits Your Lifestyle
There are a lot of reasons why your present home no longer fits your lifestyle.
It could be the size of the house itself with bedrooms and living spaces completely underutilised. However, it can also be little things such as a steep driveway, hard-to-reach storage or going up and down stairs which are proving to be a challenge.
Or it might be none of these things.
You might decide that a lot more travel is in your future. A ‘rightsized’ home in a gated community gives you more peace of mind for when you want to ‘lock up and leave’ for several months at a time.
Consider the lifestyle you lead now, and the one you want to live in the future, to help you make the decision whether now is the right time to downsize.
3. You’re Not Tied to Your Location Anymore
There are many reasons why you selected your present home. It might have been close to the kids’ school or handy to work. But what happens when neither of those things are a consideration?
Even if you are still working and have the opportunity to work from home, where would you prefer to live if you were no longer obliged to battle rush hour?
And then there is commute of another sort if your children have built their lives in another city or even another state.
Over time, neighbours and suburbs change and if you’re starting to think that your home no longer feels like ‘home’, then perhaps it is time to consider downsizing to a location which is more you.
4. You Want to Be Closer to Family
In the end, there is nothing more important than family.
If you find that your home is filled more with memories than members of the family, then look for a rightsized home in a friendly community that puts you conveniently close to loved ones.
At GemLife, we’ve been told by many of our homeowners that being near to family is the very reason why they bought a home with us.
Families get to spend more time together, and with most parents working, having the additional assistance of grandparents to do the school run and to look after the kids for a day or two during the school holidays increases those bonds.
Look for a retirement village or an over-50s lifestyle resort where grandchildren are welcome to spend some of their school holidays with you and use the resort facilities.
5. You’re Ready for a Change
They say a change is as good as a rest. And what could be more ‘you’ than making that seachange or tree change you always wanted?
Life over 50, free of the financial responsibilities of raising a young family, is the opportunity to put your priorities first for a change.
What does that look like for you? Is it more travel? Perhaps it is more time relaxing or going back to sidelined activities and hobbies. Is it time to try something new?
Now is the time to give some thought as to how you see your life over the next 20 to 30 years. What would you like your new lifestyle to look like and how might downsizing help meet those goals?
6. It May Be In Your Best Financial Interest
The family home is the most significant asset most people own.
But in retirement, the cost of maintaining and operating a large home – rates, water, electricity, for instance – can begin to erode your retirement nest egg.
Furthermore, with many Australians leading longer lives, superannuation may not stretch as much as you would like.
The difference between the sale of your family home and a purchase of a rightsized home could give you a financial boost to enjoy a retirement lifestyle you deserve.
But a word of warning: It is important to do your research before signing any contract to ensure you understand what fees and charges you may be liable for in a retirement village – especially if you intend to use the sale of your retirement home to fund advanced care or wish to leave a legacy for your family.
Fees can reduce the return on the sale of your home by half.
Learn more about retirement village exit fees and deferred management fees here.
7. You Want Safety & Security
Now is the time to consider the future while you’re still active and vital. If you’re flying solo, you might look at a lifestyle that values your independence but gives you the opportunity to mix with like-minded people.
A secure, gated, over-50s lifestyle resort which offers you great activities and lifestyle amenities along with opportunities for social get togethers is something worth considering.
Explore the GemLife Difference
If you’ve decided now is the right time to downsize, then we invite you to look at GemLife.
Our over-50s lifestyle resorts are located in some of the most sought-after downsizing locations in the country with five-star facilities especially designed for active over-50s including first-class sporting and fitness amenities and luxurious Country Club.
The homes have been architecturally designed to be ‘rightsized’ for modern living with premium European appliances as standard, as well as other outstanding inclusions as standard, such as high ceilings, solar panels, ducted air conditioning, security system, and window furnishings.
For more information, reach out to our specialist team or request an info pack.
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