However, the first-time buyer faces competition from other potential buyers, including demand from divorced couples and so-called aspirational downsizers. It is true that some people who are living longer may be less inclined to cash in their major asset for something smaller, but for those who choose this route, which not only frees up capital but also puts another house onto the market, the task is not as simple as it seems. For the owners of expensive properties there are fewer hurdles, and nearly half of all sellers downsizing have a property worth over £2m. However, at the other end of the scale, properties worth under £300,000 make up just 10 per cent of all downsizers.
Some companies have spotted the market for building apartments for the wealthier downsizer, but there are costs attached. A typical retirement apartment will be leasehold, so there is ground rent to pay. There is also a service charge, which includes paying for a wealth of items such as water rates, window cleaning, a house manager and laundry facilities. Typically, these work out at around £1,850 a year for a one-bedroom apartment and don't include council tax. At the other end of the scale an assisted living home, which has the added attraction of such facilities as a subsidised restaurant and domestic support services, can see costs rise to over £6,000 a year. These sort of numbers don't present any obvious problems to the 600,000-plus people in the UK who are now property millionaires, 82 per cent of which live in London and the south east, according to online property portal Zoopla (ZPLA).