Property Purchases Funded By Equity Release More Than Double In 2021

Over-55s keen to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday drove a 116% year-on-year increase in the number of people using equity release for property purchase, new research from more2life shows. The increase coincides with the introduction of the stamp duty holiday in July 2020 and highlights how over-55s are increasingly using equity release to help them move home – often to be close to family, friends or amenities. Property purchase cases increased by 208% between H1 2020 and H2 2020 and while this started to slow as the SDLT holiday deadline loomed. Read more on the Financial Reporter website.

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/later-life/property-purchases-funded-by-equity-release-more-than-double-in-2021.html 

Over-55s Consider Downsizing

Some 54% of over-55s are considering downsizing in the next two years, research from Audley Villages has found. A similar proportion (55%) say they decided to think about downsizing earlier so they can live in a home which is more suitable to their changing needs. Equally important (53%) is living in property which requires less maintenance than their current home, while location (34%) and moving closer to family and friends (29%) are other important factors. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/over-55s-consider-downsizing/ 

2 Million Over-55s Live In Dangerous Homes

More than 2 million people aged over 55 live in homes that endanger their health, according to a report, with older homeowners who cannot afford to maintain their home most at risk. Accidents and illnesses caused by dangerous homes cost the NHS £1.4bn a year, according to Home and Dry, a report by the Centre for Ageing Better and Care & Repair England based on analysis of the English Household Survey. The average non-decent home could be brought up to a decent standard for £2,866. A third of homes could be repaired for less than £1,000. But previous funding to address the problem has been withdrawn, the report says. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/05/2-million-over-55s-live-in-dangerous-homes-say-charities

Leaseholders Ready To Take Action

More than half (55%) of older homeowners who own leasehold properties in England and Wales would consider buying the freehold or extending the lease, research from equity release adviser Key has found. Homes owned on a leasehold basis account for around one in four sales a year and once a property has less than 80 years left on the lease, it becomes more expensive to extend the lease and in sometimes buyers can find it difficult to get finance to purchase the property. Key’s study found more than two in five (41%) of over-55s with leasehold properties have terms of less than 80 years to run and nearly one in five (18%) have less than 50 years left on their lease. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/leaseholders-ready-to-take-action/

New £200m Firm To Build 'Downsizing' Dwellings For The Over-55s

Healthcare company Octopus and property development specialist Places for People have launched a new £200m retirement housing business which aims to build more than 2,700 homes in the next five years. The new company, called Liberty Retirement Living, will provide homes for people over 55 looking to downsize, and already has five retirement villages in the pipeline. The venture hopes to capitalise on the under-supply of purpose-built homes for older people, which currently makes up just 2pc of the UK’s housing stock, compared to 17pc of stock in the US. According to research from property consultancy Knight Frank, around 25pc of over-55s want to move into some sort of retirement housing in the future -  around 2.5 million households. Read more on the Telegraph website.

Private Sector Tenants Getting Older

Private renters are showing signs of middle aged spread, with nearly half of them now aged over 46, according to a survey from Your Move. The survey found that 18% of renters were over the age of 55, with another 22% of tenants belonging to the 46-55 age group. Just 39% of those in private rental accommodation were under 35, it found. Of those surveyed, 25% of 18-25 year olds claimed they were satisfied with renting, with 80% wanting to own their own home in the future.These numbers reversed for those aged 55 and above. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Over-55s Also Being Hit By The Housing Crisis

The spiralling cost of homeownership in the UK has continued to see many priced out of the market, with those fortunate enough drawing on the bank of mum and dad as the only option in getting that first foot on the ladder. However, research by estate agent, eMoov.co.uk, has found that it isn’t just those at the start of the property ladder struggling to get by in the current economic climate, but also those in the later stages of life are having to draw equity from their property in order to survive. There has been a dramatic increase in people over the age of 55 drawing on the equity of their property in order to get by. £17bn of funding has been provided to 350,000 homeowners since 1991, a third of which has been released in the last five years alone. Read more on the emoov website.

Lack Of Suitable Properties Is Holding Back Over-55s From Downsizing

More than half of over-55s have no intention of downsizing, according to a survey for My Home Move, but those who do want to move are hampered by moving costs and a lack of suitable properties. Of those surveyed, 58% said they had no intention of downsizing. But for those that would make the move to a smaller property (25%), there existed “real and urgent” barriers which were stopping them from putting their homes on the market. Of these would-be downsizers, 39%  cited there are not enough of the ‘right kind’ of properties available to move into; while nearly 40% saw the costs involved in moving as too prohibitive to consider moving now. Read more on the My Home Move website.

“Buy-To-Let-To-Retire” Is The New Downsizing

One in five over 55s are considering buying their ideal retirement home now and letting it out until they retire, according to research from a pensions provider.  Prudential found that more than half of pension savers plan to raid their pension savings to fund their ideal retirement home. Prudential says the trend of ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ appears to be challenging the traditional route of simply selling up and downsizing as a one-off property deal on retirement. Of those over-55s who have already made a buy-to-let investment, nearly one in three (32%) said they had done so to secure a property to live in one day. Read more on the Landlord Today website.

Move Out Of Your Big Homes and Help Society, Minister Tells Over-55s

Middle-aged couples in large homes should be encouraged to sell up and downsize to smaller properties to “benefit” society, a minister has said. Lord Newby, a Liberal Democrat minister, said that more than half of people aged over 55 years old had spare rooms and suggested the Government should take action to help them move. He pointed to Government trials in which taxpayers’ money had been used to help cover the costs of moving and to help arrange mortgage financing for so-called empty nesters. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Over-55s Forced to Use House Equity to Pay off Debts

An increasing number of pensioners are having to cash out on the value of their homes so they can top up their income or pay off debts, figures suggest. Equity release lending, which lets over-55s access some of the value of their house, rose 32pc year-on-year to its highest point since 2004 at £326m, according to the Equity Release Council. The proportion loaned out in lump sums during the first half of the year rose to 41pc to 37pc, suggesting a rising number of borrowers who need funds immediately. But soaring house prices also played a part, because the average value of each loan had gone up more sharply than the number of new borrowers. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.