Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper contributes to understanding housing adjustments in later life by investigating the role of four key lifecourse transitions experienced by older individuals and their households, namely changes in health, retirement, union transitions and adult children leaving the household. Using data from a representative sample of the Scottish population for the decade 2001–2011, the study examines who moves and, for movers, whether they adjust their housing size in response to changes in their personal and household circumstances. In particular, the study explores diversity in housing consumption at older ages by investigating whether the triggers of upsizing or downsizing differ across tenure groups. The majority of older adults in Scotland do not change their place of residence during the study decade. For the minority who do move, all four lifecourse transitions are significant triggers for residential relocation but there is considerable diversity across the two major tenure groups in the influence of household changes on their housing consumption adjustments. In both tenure groups, however, the presence of children in the household is associated with upsizing and is a significant impediment to downsizing. Given the relative rootedness of older parents with co-resident adult children and their propensity to upsize rather than downsize if they move, our findings raise concerns over the interdependencies between younger and older generations in the housing market.
Highlights
The generation that reached adulthood in the s and early s entered retirement in the two decades around the turn of the millennium
In line with past studies, our model results support the importance of certain lifecourse events and changes in household circumstances as significant predictors of moving house among older adults in Scotland
We find that declining health is a key trigger of a residential move; older adults in Scotland are significantly more likely to move if at least one household member already had a limiting long-term illness in or if their health deteriorates during the decade
Summary
The generation that reached adulthood in the s and early s entered retirement in the two decades around the turn of the millennium. Compared to their parent’s generation, on average they are wealthier, living longer and more likely to own their own home. Smaller families, rising divorce rates, re-partnering and longer healthy life expectancy have all challenged the idea of marital and housing stability for the greater part of adult life. The housing boom and bust of the last decade and the recent economic downturn have prompted growing attention from policy makers in Britain to issues of intergenerational justice and, some argue, the need for older adults to downsize in order to release family housing for the younger generation. The study of residential relocation and housing consumption at older ages represents an important focus for research
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