Families are facing challenges in selling inherited retirement properties from their elderly relatives. One individual, for instance, has reduced the price of his late mother’s retirement flat by £55,000 but has not been successful in selling it, leading to significant ongoing expenses.
The flat, purchased by Joan Taylor for £225,000 in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, in 2015, is within a complex reserved for individuals over 70 years old, limiting the pool of potential buyers. Following Joan’s passing at 96 in June 2024, her son Gordon Taylor lowered the asking price to £170,000 but is still struggling to find a buyer.
Consequently, Gordon is burdened with covering annual costs amounting to £9,700 for service charges, £435 for ground rent, and £1,044 for council tax. Expressing his frustration, he remarked that what his mother thought would be a beneficial legacy has turned into a financial burden.
In a similar situation, another individual disclosed that despite reducing the asking price of their late mother’s flat by £200,000, no offers have materialized. Experts suggest there may be around 10,000 unoccupied long-term properties in privately owned retirement communities across England and Wales.
Contrary to this, the Retirement Housing Group (RHG) asserts that 95% of retirement properties are currently occupied. Additionally, in the property market, the average house price in the UK has exceeded £300,000 for the first time, with a monthly increase of 0.7% as reported by Halifax.
Amanda Bryden, Halifax’s head of mortgages, noted that the housing market in 2026 began steadily, with prices rising by 0.7% in January, reversing the previous month’s decline of 0.5%. The annual growth rate also climbed to 1.0%, elevating the average house price to £300,077.
Despite this milestone, affordability remains a significant challenge for many potential buyers, according to industry professionals. Karen Noye, a mortgage expert at Quilter, emphasized that while existing homeowners may welcome the price increase, it poses further obstacles for first-time buyers already grappling with affordability issues.
