‘It’s time to downsize and cash-in’ Rightmove tells older home owners

Righmove has urged older home owners living in five-bedroom properties to downsize to three bedrooms, enticing them with promises of a £500,000 or more windfall.

The portal says that outside London, moving to a three-bedroom house could release £498,687 in cash based on current average asking prices.

London movers could release even more due to the higher cost of housing in the capital, with a potential equity release of £1,062,087.

Movers in the North East would gain the most from downsizing though, recouping 65% of their five-bedroom house’s value – the highest percentage of any region.

Savings

Not only could the release of cash from a home be a motivator for an empty nester to downsize, but so too could the substantial savings on energy bills.

Rightmove analysis shows that downsizing from a five-bedroom less energy efficient EPC E rated house, to a three-bed more energy efficient EPC C rated house could save homeowners an average of £3,806 a year in energy bills.

If 150,000 larger households made this move over half a billion pounds a year could be saved by these downsizers in energy costs for them to potentially spend elsewhere.

Downsizing is a sensitive topic for many homeowners, as emotional ties and the inconvenience of moving often deter them from selling their family homes.”

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, says: “Downsizing is a sensitive topic for many homeowners, as emotional ties and the inconvenience of moving often deter them from selling their family homes.

“However, empty nesters may overlook the significant benefits of downsizing, such as reduced energy bills and increased cash from purchasing a smaller home, that can still cover moving costs with leftover returns.

“By transitioning from a five-bedroom to a three-bedroom house, homeowners could still retain spare bedrooms for guests and free up on average half a million in cash for other uses before moving costs.”