{"id":64297,"date":"2026-08-03T19:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64297\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:58:09","slug":"older-people-open-to-downsizing-but-undersupply-and-stamp-duty-among-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64297\/","title":{"rendered":"Older people open to downsizing but undersupply and stamp duty among barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

As 78-year-old Eleanor Shearing looks over the cluttered boxes around the place she’s lived in for 50 years, a mix of nostalgia and anxiety set in.<\/p>\n

Seaford, a coastal suburb of Adelaide, is where she raised a family, formed a community and made a life.<\/p>\n

But her three-bedroom home is now getting harder for her to live in, and on a single income, it’s also becoming harder to pay for.<\/p>\n

After four years of trying to downsize, Ms Shearing fears she might have to leave Seaford entirely.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Eleanor Shearing still has a photo of her home in Seaford when she bought it in the 1970s. (ABC News: Tim Morris)<\/p>\n

She is not alone in wanting to downsize. Research has shown more than half of people over the age of 55<\/a> are open to it.<\/p>\n

“This is home. It’s very difficult when you’re older to sort of start off anew,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’ve thought about it, [but] you lose that connection with the community.<\/p>\n

“I’ve got a lovely bunch of friends and people that I’ve known down here for a long time. So I really don’t want to move too far away.”<\/p>\n

So what are the barriers?<\/p>\n

The Productivity Commission has identified several factors, including planning laws, that are restricting housing supply and choice.<\/p>\n

Those findings are laid out in its interim report<\/a> into what governments can do to unlock more new homes.<\/p>\n

\"Danielle<\/p>\n

Danielle Wood says planning rules are slowing development and making housing more expensive. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n

While the full report is expected in March 2027, the interim report identifies several ways these barriers could be removed, including:<\/p>\n

Allow up to three-storey developments across most residential landAllow mid-rise or high-rise apartments in high-demand areasAllow residential development in commercial zones, unless there is a clear rationale for excluding itReduce or remove minimum lot size requirementsRelax or remove built-form controls that limit flexibility and choice for households<\/p>\n

Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood said poorly designed regulations made projects slower, more expensive and reduced the range of housing types available.<\/p>\n

The real-life Utopia stories blocking new homes<\/a><\/p>\n

A new report from the Productivity Commission calls on governments to embrace a “build mindset” to make housing more affordable.<\/p>\n

“The rules should allow us to build enough housing in the right places, while still protecting the things Australians value,” she said.<\/p>\n

Grattan Institute housing expert Matthew Bowes said many of the most desirable places to live, which often had aging demographics, were subject to restrictive zoning rules.<\/p>\n

Those rules blocked housing supply by making it more difficult to build townhouses and low-rise apartments that might be most attractive to downsizers, he said.<\/p>\n

“So, those kinds of homes are undersupplied,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Which makes it difficult for downsizers when they are trying to find a smaller home that still meet their needs in the community that they may have spent a lot of their lives in.”\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew Bowes says stamp duty has led to more older people staying in larger homes longer. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)<\/p>\n

Experts say most barriers for older people wanting to downsize sit at local and state government levels.<\/p>\n

One barrier that sits at the state level is stamp duty, according to Mr Bowes.<\/p>\n

In February, the South Australian government announced<\/a> it would abolish stamp duty for people over the age of 60 who sell their homes to move into new builds.<\/p>\n

Communities become developers amid downsize shortage<\/a><\/p>\n

In regional Australia, where baby boomers are being told to downsize to free up homes, country communities are having to become developers to build appropriate-sized housing.<\/p>\n

The Australian Capital Territory plans to phase out stamp duty completely in favour of a universal land tax<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr Bowes said stamp duty was a tax on housing transactions that discouraged people from moving homes over time.<\/p>\n

“In the case of downsizers, they may stay in a home that is larger than they need for a long period of time because if they had to move, they would have to pay stamp duty.<\/p>\n

“So it acts as a disincentive on people choosing homes that best suit their needs at their stage in life.”<\/p>\n

Australian Housing Urban Research Institute managing director Tom Alves said an ongoing universal land tax paid by all landowners was more stable, efficient and fairer.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tom Alves says any reforms to stamp duty need to be introduced slowly. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

But there are challenges to implementing it, as two-thirds of properties are exempt from land taxes because they are the owners’ main residence, he said.<\/p>\n

“Politically, the impacts of moving from a stamp duty regime to a universal land tax is possibly more problematic as this tax change will affect all landowners, and not just investors,” Dr Alves said.<\/p>\n

“Reforms would need to be introduced incrementally.”<\/p>\n

Most older people want to age in place<\/p>\n

Christine Toose is facing a range of these barriers in multiple states.<\/p>\n

The grandmother in her early 70s wants to sell her four-bedroom Queensland house and move home to Victoria, where she purchased her “forever home” off the plan in May this year.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Christine Toose says she has been considering downsizing for the last year. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Ms Toose has grandchildren on the way in Melbourne, but the cost of stamp duty on her Queensland home has so far prevented her from putting it on the market.<\/p>\n

“If the governments are really serious about getting baby boomers out of their big houses, then they need to be offering some sort of incentives,” Ms Toose told the ABC.<\/p>\n

“It’s a big thing to move out of the place that you’ve been living in for some time.<\/p>\n

“Downsizing is just an enormous feat in itself.”<\/p>\n

The changes to stamp duty in South Australia have helped make it easier for Ms Shearing to downsize.<\/p>\n

But she still is struggling to find a ground-floor two-bedroom home near her neighbourhood in Seaford.<\/p>\n

“I manage the stairs okay now, but there’s probably going to come a time later on down the track that I won’t be able to,” she said.<\/p>\n

“If someone knocks down an old home in this area, they’re going to put three and four townhouses on there.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want a townhouse. I want to go into something that’s on one level.”<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Eleanor Shearing says she does not want to leave Seaford because it’s all she’s known for decades. (ABC News: Tim Morris)<\/p>\n

She is among about two-thirds of older people<\/a> who would like to age in place, which means to stay in your current home or neighbourhood as you age.<\/p>\n

She does not want to leave the place where she raised her children.<\/p>\n

But with tens of thousands of dollars left on her mortgage, the pensioner needs to find a solution soon.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been down here since 1971 \u2026 everything’s familiar,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The bus runs past my door. I’ve got a park across the road. The doctors are just across the park.<\/p>\n

“As we age, you don’t need as much either. But it’s just knowing your community.<\/p>\n

“So to me, everything is very convenient and very handy. To move, I won’t have all that.”<\/p>\n

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