Relying on property to fund retirement.

Downsizing is considered to be one of the possibilities for homeowners to use the value of their home and partly finance their retirement. However, this solution may vary greatly from year to year due to changeable market conditions.
House prices fell down by 23% between August 2007 and April 2009. According to a study by Standard Life, current property downsizing can generate an annuity of £2,262 a year; one would have received £2,777 in 2008 when house prices were a lot higher.
Another aggravating factor is falling annuity rates, which went down from almost 8% in the middle of 2008 to some 6.8% on average.
The survey also indicated that almost half of its respondents rely on property to fund retirement.
Age is regarded as a determining factor in whether to favour property to fund retirement. According to Hargreaves Lansdown, “equity release or downsizing schemes can be useful but you should not be relying on it, especially if you are in your thirties or forties”.
Throughout the country there can be seen differences between regions. Downsizing in Greater London may result in generating some £8,000 while the same in a northern region may result in less than £2,000.