The December 2017 issue of Leadership, Strategy and Business magazine intheblack.com, outlined a number of drivers for staying in the family home faced by those considering selling up and moving to an aged care residence.
The main factors are:
Trends to longer-term employment into the 60s and 70s age brackets giving seniors greater ability to maintain a mortgage later in life.
Individual health and fitness levels have increased for seniors allowing greater capacity for care of own home and gardens, either completely or supplemented by service providers.
Maintaining connections to existing social networks is a strong factor when considering a move and this increases in importance with age.
Financially and emotionally there is a very high transaction cost to moving or downsizing from the family home. Buyers of residential homes valued at one million dollars in NSW pay approximately $40,000 in stamp duty fees.
Finally the capital gains tax exemption on the family home is an ongoing advantage and embedded in the Australian financial environment.
If seniors do choose to downsize, Australian research findings have revealed the main motivation is not to free up capital but instead avoid increasingly onerous home and garden maintenance chores with associated reduced mobility.