Average downsizing windfall rises to over £100,000

East Anglia sees biggest growth in downsizing windfall since 2004.

Homeowners stand to raise over £100,000 by downsizing to a semi-detached home, according to the latest Downsizers Report from Lloyds Bank.

Moving from a detached house to a bungalow frees up £103,715 on average, while moving to a semi-detached house could raise an impressive £121,686.

The last time Lloyds looked into downsizing, at the end of 2013, the average amount raised was just under £98,000.

Region-by-region breakdown

When it comes to moving from a detached house to a bungalow, East Anglia has seen the largest average windfall increase over the last decade of £24,500 (38%), followed by the South West at £22,664 (32%) and Northern Ireland at £11,477 (29%).

Region	Downsizing windfall 2004	Downsizing windfall 2014	10 year percentage change	10 year change in cash terms
East Anglia	£64,330	£88.831	38%	£24,500
South West	£71,210	£93,875	32%	£22,664
Northern Ireland	£39,435	£50,912	29%	£11,477
North	£60,833	£70,044	15%	£9,211
Scotland	£58,721	£65,971	12%	£7,250
West Midlands	£69,566	£75,428	8%	£5,862
South East	£156,699	£169,508	8%	£12,809
Yorkshire and the Humber	£70,374	£75,887	8%	£5,513
East Midlands	£65,016	£67,711	4%	£2,696
Wales	£68,933	£64,327	-7%	-£4,606
North West	£83,233	£76,193	-8%	-£7,040
Greater London	£319,372	£289,927	-9%	-£29,445
UK	£95,634	£103, 715	8%	£8,081

Source: Lloyds Bank

Unsurprisingly, downsizers in London could potentially make the most, getting £289.927 for trading down from a detached home to a bungalow. That said, the windfall has dropped by 9% over the past decade, placing them at the bottom of the league table.

Here’s what downsizers could stand to earn if they move from a detached to a semi-detached home:

Region	Downsizing windfall 2004	Downsizing windfall 2014	10 year percentage change	10 year change in cash terms
South West	£107,029	£126,737	18%	£19,707
North	£87,271	£100,638	15%	£13,367
Scotland	£88,751	£101,805	15%	£13,053
Northern Ireland	£62,301	£70,669	13%	£8,368
East Anglia	£91,594	£102,844	12%	£11,250
South East	£174,996	£191,955	10%	£16,959
Yorkshire and the Humber	£101,160	£105,865	5%	£4,706
East Midlands	£96,034	£100,465	5%	£4,431
Wales	£91,411	£91,244	0%	-£167
West Midlands	£112,163	£111,540	-1%	-£623
North West	£106,374	£103,754	-2%	-£2,619
Greater London	£269,627	£237,614	-12%	-£32,014
UK	£112,744	£121,686	6%	£6,943

Source: Lloyds Bank

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Who downsizes - and why?

According to the Lloyds report, the average downsizer is 56 years old, has lived in their property between 11 and 20 years, having moved into that property at the age of 39.

Downsizing is a big driver behind property market activity, with more than half (52%) of homeowners that plan to sell their property in the next three years saying they’d like to move to a smaller house.

The biggest motivating reason is wanting to find a smaller house that better suits their circumstances (63% of those that plan to downsize). Other reasons include reducing bills and outgoings (40%), releasing equity (28%) and supporting their retirement plans (25%).

A quarter of downsizers are doing so earlier than expected, for a variety of reasons including health, a change in their relationship status and how close they are to amenities.

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