Downsizing homes can upsize costs

September 28, 2018

Selling an existing, larger home and downsizing to a smaller residence is popular with baby boomers, but a new survey finds it often costs more than most suspect.
According to an Ipsos survey commissioned in August by HomeEquity Bank, 27 per cent of downsizers said the costs were more than they expected, suggesting that expenses from downsizing can add up quickly.
While there may be certain advantages for some older adults to downsize their home, almost half of Canadian homeowners aged 55+ (48 per cent) say they have no plans to downsize. In fact, within this group that plans to stay put, 93 per cent say they are happy with their current living arrangements.
Most older adults who have tackled downsizing say they are pleased with their decision (88 per cent) yet admit it didn't happen without some regret and unknown sacrifices. For example, only 34 per cent of respondents indicated they plan to move to a new city or town when they downsize, when in actuality, half (50 per cent) ended up buying a smaller home outside of their current community and network.
HomeEquity Bank polled 2,500 older adults in Canada (aged 55+)—among which 1,870 are homeowners—the week of August 27, 2018 through the Ipsos survey.