With mortgage rates on the rise and the market peaking, is now an ideal time for you to downsize?
A perfect storm of rising household bills, increasing mortgage rates and warnings of slowing house price growth has created one of the most compelling windows for downsizing in recent memory. As Managing Partner of Black Brick Property Solutions, I have been advising clients on exactly this dynamic — and the window of opportunity is one that astute homeowners are already acting on.
“Savvy downsizers were already trying to ‘cash in before the market takes a turn’.” — Camilla Dell, Managing Partner, Black Brick Property Solutions
This view is supported by broader market data. Savills has noted that after a strong burst of house price growth — the first sustained period of significant gains in several years — the gains made on an existing family home are currently likely to far outweigh the costs of purchasing a smaller property, even after stamp duty. As energy costs continue to rise, the financial case for moving to a smaller, more efficient home becomes even more compelling.
The numbers bear this out. Research suggests domestic energy costs run at approximately £25 per square metre per year at current prices, meaning a move from a 140 sq m house to a 65 sq m flat could save close to £2,000 annually in bills alone — before factoring in reduced council tax, lower maintenance costs and the potential to release substantial equity.
Across the country, homeowners are acting on these calculations. Research from Purplebricks found that more than half of all house hunters would be prepared to downsize to cut their bills, with 60 per cent of those actively downsizing doing so specifically to reduce household running costs. Younger age groups — those in their 50s and 60s — are increasingly willing to make this move, with Savills data showing that owners in their 50s account for 21 per cent of all property sales in Britain.
At Black Brick, we work with downsizing clients to ensure they achieve the best possible outcome on both sides of the transaction — maximising the sale price of their existing home while securing a property that genuinely meets their needs for the next chapter. In a market that may be approaching a turning point, timing and strategy have never mattered more.
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