Older homeowners prefer to stay put

13 November 2019
| By Chris Dastoor |
image
image
expand image

Despite the Federal Government’s downsizer initiative, retirement-age Australian home owners are unlikely to move out of the family home unless they have to, usually due to health reasons.

Research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Moving, downsizing and housing equity consumption choices of older Australians was undertaken by AHURI research from the University of Sydney to understand who downsized and why.

Around 65% of home owners aged 65-71 in 2001 were still living in their original residence in 2016, while older renters were more likely to move as less than half were living in the same dwelling in that same timeframe.

From 1 July 2018, homeowners over the age of 65 could contribute up to $300,000 extra into their super from the sale of their home to help ‘downsize’ into a dwelling better fitted for retirement while boosting retirement savings.

Stephen Whelan, Associate Professor from the University of Sydney, said the research showed Australian’s were still reluctant to downsize or spend their housing wealth in retirement.

“When such transitions do occur, they tend to be associated with key life events that are not induced by or associated with policy settings; for example, health shocks that require a move into aged care; retiring from the workforce or the death of a partner,” Whelan said.

By the time they were 80, 12.26% of Australians were living in a nursing home, which was up from 2.92% of those aged 75-80.

The research also showed Australians aged 55-64 were as likely to be home owners as their older counterparts in retirement but were less likely to own their home outright and had less equity.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

GG

So shareholders lose a dividend plus have seen the erosion of value. Qantas decides to clawback remuneration from Alan ...

2 months 1 week ago
Denise Baker

This is why I left my last position. There was no interest in giving the client quality time, it was all about bumping ...

2 months 1 week ago
gonski

So the Hayne Royal Commission has left us with this. What a sad day for the financial planning industry. Clearly most ...

2 months 1 week ago

A Sydney-based financial adviser has been banned from providing financial services in the interest of consumer protection after failing to act on conduct concerns. ...

3 weeks 5 days ago

Insignia Financial has made four appointments, including three who have joined from TAL, to lead strategy and innovation in its retirement solutions for the MLC brand....

18 hours ago

ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a $250 million Sydney fund manager, one of two AFSL cancellations announced by the corporate regulator....

3 weeks 3 days ago