Moving home can be very stressful, not to mention incredibly expensive, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that so many people these days are choosing to stay put in their current homes and improve, rather than relocate.
This is no different for those over the age of 55, it would seem, with new research from SunLife Direct revealing that two-thirds of those in this age group have no interest in downsizing, with the happiest homes having celebrated an impressive 23 Christmases, 83 birthdays and three births.
Location was found to be the biggest reason as to why people love their homes so much, with other favourite aspects were found to be the garden, the space, owning it in the first place, and being cosy, comfortable and homely.
As for not wanting to move, the most popular reasons for staying put were found to be liking the location, the stress of moving, too many memories in the house, staying close to family, liking the local area, the cost of moving, liking the neighbours, spending too much on home renovations and staying close to friends.
“Our research shows that family homes hold a huge amount of happy memories. Most of our respondents have been in their homes for at least two decades, and in that time have celebrated hundreds of happy family occasions.
“And despite the fact that the over-55s are a property rich, cash poor generation, who could free up a lot of cash by downsizing, our research reveals that most cannot bear the thought of giving up their homes and with it, all the memories they had,” equity release service director at SunLife Simon Stanney said.
Deciding not to move house does mean that you could use the cash you’d spend on relocating on doing some renovations instead. Do you need new windows installed at your home? You might find you can afford to do it if you choose to improve and not move.
And you can add serious value to your home if you choose your renovation projects wisely, so that if you do decide to downsize in the future you can make a pretty penny at the same time.
Zopa’s Home Improvement Index from 2017 showed that loft conversions can lead to a return on investment of an impressive 70 per cent, so this might be a good direction to go in. New kitchens can deliver 51 per cent ROI, new bathrooms 53 per cent, extensions 57 per cent, conservatories 43 per cent, and new windows and doors 23 per cent.
Of course, don’t just think about how much value you could add to your home with your renovations – also make sure you’re adding something to your house that will make a difference to your life, whether it’s a big job like a loft conversion or something relatively simple like a fresh coat of paint here and there. Redecorating is often a quick and easy way of breathing new life into your home, after all.