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29 March 2018

Neil Knight, Business Development Director at Spicerhaart Part Exchange and Assisted Move comments on the IMLA report The New Normal which suggests that Britain’s ageing population will have “profound ramifications” on the housing market because many older owners will have low or no mortgages and will not want to move home, and this will have knock-on effects for second steppers in need of accommodation appropriate for growing families.

"The IMLA’s report highlights the issue of older people staying in their homes and not ‘opening up’ the market for younger families trying to take their second or their step onto the housing ladder.

“While I can certainly see that this does pose an issue, we shouldn’t be criticising older people for not moving, but looking building more suitable properties. The Government tend to focus a lot on first-time buyers and building properties to suit people making their first steps onto the property ladder, but we need to be thinking about the next steps. We need to look at housing developments which have a good mix of house sizes to provide first-time buyer accommodation as well as properties for second and third steppers. Offering part exchange can also help move these transactions along.

“We also need to be looking at more attractive options for older people. There may be many older people who do actually want to downsize but are worried about the hassle of moving or perhaps can’t find anything suitable.

“Part-exchange and assisted move is also an option for them as many retirement home developers work with part-exchange schemes to help older people to sell their existing properties to enable them to purchase and move into a new one more quickly and easily. There are no estate agency fees to pay and a guaranteed buyer; making it a quick, easy and painless way for older people to downsize and move home.