The property market expert Rightmove says that downsizing is the biggest reason for moving home at the present time. It says that it is the biggest factor in nine out of the 10 regions in England and Wales, with 40% looking to trade downwards compared to just 25% who were looking at bigger properties than their own.
Rightmove identifies people who are looking to downsize as largely property rich, but who are short of the ready cash they need to fund lifestyle changes and family commitments, due to, among other things, the high cost of living, low interest rates affecting their savings and poor returns on personal pension investments.
Overall, the company puts the average house price across England and Wales at £243,759, with the number of new properties coming onto the market down 10% on the month before. Rightmove say that market activity has also been adversely affected by some companies increasing their mortgage interest rates and that this, combined with the effects of the economic downturn, is leading to a continuing sluggishness in the sector.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, says the number of people looking to downsize has to be matched by those seeking to trade up for there to be a healthy housing market and added that there needs to be a “fair and consistent wind of mortgage lending to prompt a speedier housing market recovery”.
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