Over 65's are sitting on a lot of property wealth partly because there is a shortage of homes for them to downsize to and because the second-hand market, on which they rely to sell their homes, has showed signs of a decline.
The retirement home builder, McCarthy Stone, found that 36 per cent of people aged over 65 are looking to downsize, this equates to 4.3 million of the population.
Currently, housing policies focus more on creating starter homes whilst the chronic under supply of retirement homes is overlooked. There should be a balance between the needs of those requiring starter homes and those in need of retirement homes.
The UK’s current market for retirement homes is much smaller than that of other developed countries: only 1pc of the people aged over 60 live in retirement communities, compared with 17pc in the USA, and 13pc in Australia and New Zealand. He added: “Unfortunately, the UK’s housing stock is woefully unprepared for this demographic shift to the 'extended middle age’, and this has created a new 'Generation Stuck’ dilemma.
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