Older people lack confidence in the housing market
People aged over 60 are struggling the most when it comes to selling their homes, the head of wills, probate and lifetime planning for Saga Legal Services has claimed.
Emma Myers said: “People over 60 are less likely to feel they are in a better position to move, probably because many have retired and are therefore now on a fixed income.”
She highlighted recent findings from its second-yearly Britain on the Move Survey, in which Saga Legal Services said just 8 per cent of those aged over 60 intending to move were better off than they were a year ago.
According to Ms Myers, the survey examined the theme of right-sizing, the act of moving into a house that best fits your present circumstances.
Of those included in the survey, 22 per cent of those aged over 70 said they planned to move house again.
Just under a quarter, 22 per cent, of people aged 50 to 59 believed they would choose somewhere smaller for their next property.
The survey also discovered that of those aged 18 to 34 looking to move, 42 per cent claimed they were in a better position to do so than the same time a year ago.
Last week, Fos upheld a customer complaint after HSBC refused to give him a mortgage on the grounds that he would have been over 65 at the time of the term end.
Adviser view
Matt Lowndes, managing director of London-based mortgage broker Coreco, said: “The real question for many lenders is to look at their age limits, as some lenders will not provide the loan for long enough into retirement for some borrowers.
“I suspect we may see this start to change, on the buy-to-let side at least, as lenders react to demand for investment loans for longer. It is doubtful we will see a sudden explosion as ‘grandlords’ flood the market, especially as they work out the tax implications of cashing in the whole pension at once.”
