How are Reading's OAPS surviving the rising cost in living?
Reading OAPs are Getting Jobs and Downsizing Properties to Beat the Cost-of-Living Crisis
Reading OAP retirees have to make tough choices with the onset of the cost-of-living crisis.
Growing inflation, unpredictable financial markets and the high cost of living mean many former retired Reading people are returning to work in what has been dubbed the ‘great un-retirement’. Some are even bringing forward their downsizing house move.
Looking at the changing job market, July saw the most significant month-on-month rise in OAPs working since records began in the 1990s when 1 in 23 of all the UK’s OAPs went back into employment.
That now means ….
3,177 Reading over 65s are in gainful employment (i.e., 1 in 8 of them).
As a backdrop, the number of working 65-year-olds and above has been increasing since the mid-nineties when 1,365 Reading OAPs were employed. Yet, July's figures were the largest monthly jump on record by quite a distance.
Looking at the changing property market, we have been speaking to many Reading OAP homeowners who are having to bring their downsizing plans forward several years to survive the cost-of-living crisis. The money generated from the downsizing will cover their housekeeping and ever rising energy bills.
So why would someone want to downsize? Mostly, their homes are too big for their needs as their children have flown the nest decades before. The government classifies a property as under-occupied if it has two or more spare bedrooms.
How big is the under-occupation issue in the UK?
Of the 4.52 million British homes owned by those aged 65 and over, 3.04 million have at least two spare bedrooms (i.e., under-occupied). Looking locally…
9,044 of the 17,197 Reading OAPs have two or more spare bedrooms.
You might ask why this is important.
Well, to start, it's holding back Reading families that need the bedrooms and space these larger houses offer if the older occupants won't move on. Also, these larger homes cost more to run in terms of energy bills and other things such as building insurance and council tax.
From October (even with the recent energy bill cap) it will cost on average £354 per month in gas and electricity alone for a large Reading 4-bed detached home (where occupants are home all day).
So why are there so many mature homeowners in their 70s, 80s and even 90s still living in houses that are too large for their day-to-day requirements? There are several reasons for this. One is the obvious emotional attachment to the family home they have often owned since the 1970s and 1980s. The second is to escape the hassle and costs of the house move, and finally, the small number of suitable Reading properties for them to buy to attract them to make a move.
The growing energy bills have provoked many of those mature Reading homeowners, who maybe can’t or do not wish to get a job, to re-evaluate their home life strategy. I am seeing an ever-increasing number of mature Reading homeowners downsizing (or, as I prefer, rightsizing) to diminish their monthly expenditures.
So how much could mature Reading homeowners gain by downsizing?
The numbers are intriguing when looking at the average difference between the sale price and the subsequent purchase price of the average down-sizer.
Reading down-sizers could unlock an average of £150,630 per household.
Not only will Reading homeowners earn this lump of cash for their extended retirement, but they will also save themselves around £177 per month in lower energy bills, buildings insurance and council tax bills.
So, what are the options for mature Reading homeowners?
Waiting 12 months to make a move might mean you are putting your Reading home on the market as every other OAP homeowner puts their home on the market, meaning the dynamics of the local property market will probably be a lot different. Thus, the equity you release on the downsize could be much lower.
Yet some of you will be worried about finding your next home. Not to worry.
At Avocado, we do things a bit differently compared to other Reading estate agents.
We can find you a buyer, then put everything on ice and go and find you a property to buy.
We guarantee you won't be made homeless if you or we can't find another home for you to move to.
We call it peace of mind!
If you would like to chat about this, without any obligation, feel free to get in contact with us on the details below
01344 249500
Or if you would like to find out how much your property is worth, get a FREE instant valuation via the link below