Most older people want to downsize. So what are the barriers?

As 78-year-old Eleanor Shearing surveys the boxes filling her home of 50 years, a mix of nostalgia and anxiety washes over her. Seaford, the coastal Adelaide suburb where she raised her family and built a life, is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Her three-bedroom house, once a family hub, is now a financial strain on a single income.

“

This is home. It's very difficult when you're older to sort of start off anew.

Ms. Shearing's desire to downsize, a wish shared by over half of Australians over 55, is hampered by the very community she cherishes. "This is home. It's very difficult when you're older to sort of start off anew," she said, expressing concern about losing connections with friends and the community she has known for decades.

The barriers preventing older Australians like Ms. Shearing from downsizing are multifaceted, with planning laws and restrictive zoning emerging as significant culprits. The Productivity Commission's interim report highlights how these regulations impede housing supply and choice. Experts like Danielle Wood, chair of the Productivity Commission, and Matthew Bowes, a housing expert at the Grattan Institute, point to poorly designed regulations that slow development, increase costs, and limit the variety of housing available.

“

The rules should allow us to build enough housing in the right places, while still protecting the things Australians value.

Bowes specifically notes that desirable areas with aging populations often have strict zoning rules that prevent the construction of townhouses and low-rise apartments, which are precisely the types of homes downsizers seek. This undersupply makes it difficult for older residents to find suitable smaller homes within their established communities, forcing many, like Ms. Shearing, to consider leaving their beloved neighborhoods entirely.

“

So, those kinds of homes are undersupplied.