by Steve Randall
20 Sep 2018
Canada’s seniors may be left disappointed by the costs and savings from downsizing their homes in retirement.
Of 1,870 homeowners over 55 polled by Ipsos for HomeEquity Bank, 39% said they were skeptical that they would save money by downsizing and 27% who had already done so said the costs were greater than expected.
Nearly half of those polled said they are not planning to downsize, with 93% of them happy with their current living arrangements.
“There are real costs to downsizing… financial, emotional and personal ones,” advises Yvonne Ziomecki, HomeEquity Bank’s Executive Vice President, Marketing. “From a financial perspective if you had to move outside your cherished neighbourhood or further away from family and personal support networks, it may mean you’ll spend more resources to maintain relationships, to develop reliable new connections and to navigate life in a different setting.”
Regrets, I’ve had a few
Even among those who have downsized with 88% saying they are happy with their decision, they admit that there were unknown sacrifices and some regret.
Although only a third had intended to move to a new city/town when they downsized but almost half end up outside their current network and community. Older retirees are more likely to move to a new area when downsizing.
Source : MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA
https://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca/market-update/downsizing-may-not-be-a-golden-nest-egg-for-boomers-248267.aspx