New research has revealed just how much money residents in Manchester could potentially save from downsizing their house this year.
As homeowners edge closer to retirement and start to think about long-term financial security, downsizing to a home more suited to their needs is often near the top of the list of considerations.
Especially as older children may have flown the nest too and they tend to find themselves with a home that’s much larger than they need, moving somewhere a little smaller could end up freeing up hundreds of thousands of pounds to put towards retirement funds.
But, just how much money on average could Manchester homeowners be potentially be looking at saving?
In order to find this out for each of the UK’s most populated towns and cities, PensionBee took the average asking price of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom properties and calculated the price difference between each, as well as taking an average of these four saving figures.
The research revealed that Manchester ranked in 11th place in the UK and that residents could save an average of £103,175 when downsizing in the area.
Pixabay
More specifically, you can save up to £314,552 by downsizing from a five bedroom house to a three bedroom house, and £98,146 by moving from a three bedroom house to a one bedroom house.
The research also revealed that now could be one of the best times to downsize this year.
Discussing the research findings for 2020, Romi Savova – CEO at PensionBee – said: “Our research shows the considerable amount of money that could be tied up in your home [and] given the stamp duty holiday, there’s arguably been no better time to downsize, especially if you’re approaching retirement and looking to grow your income.
“Increasing evidence suggests that the majority of us aren’t saving enough for retirement, and where it might not be possible to make larger pension contributions, property can help bridge the gap.
“As our data indicates downsizing could release a significant sum, right across the UK, so it’s something that could be worth considering if you want to boost your retirement fund.”
Here’s the top 20 UK cities where you can save the most money by downsizing:
Rank
Town/City
Five Beds
Four Beds
Three Beds
Two Beds
One Bed
Average saving
1
London
£2,146,131
£1,393,470
£1,128,398
£723,906
£474,607
£417,881
2
Brighton and Hove
£863,365
£632,964
£481,756
£360,653
£236,822
£156,636
3
Bristol
£791,128
£489,468
£342,070
£276,700
£196,692
£148,609
4
Bolton
£618,523
£369,597
£195,606
£133,004
£84,049
£133,619
5
Bournemouth
£667,657
£507,601
£366,319
£247,737
£141,586
£131,518
6
Aberdeen
£603,785
£331,739
£195,130
£129,599
£80,528
£130,814
7
Edinburgh
£660,064
£445,681
£393,861
£276,635
£197,293
£115,693
8
Leeds
£572,264
£395,867
£227,274
£167,157
£116,242
£114,006
9
Sheffield
£527,825
£348,063
£193,109
£141,579
£105,929
£105,474
10
Portsmouth
£549,374
£440,998
£280,073
£214,689
£132,212
£104,291
11
Manchester
£570,409
£344,853
£255,857
£208,888
£157,711
£103,175
12
Cardiff
£531,337
£378,172
£269,094
£193,468
£127,080
£101,064
13
Nottingham
£509,946
£378,716
£224,795
£175,878
£120,102
£97,461
14
Liverpool
£472,717
£310,644
£178,205
£143,983
£105,963
£91,689
15
Reading
£542,222
£422,053
£344,374
£259,948
£178,562
£90,915
16
Birmingham
£509,764
£372,092
£236,528
£200,296
£156,227
£88,384
17
Luton
£495,998
£411,158
£286,255
£200,874
£146,803
£87,299
18
Glasgow
£433,182
£302,186
£187,953
£139,144
£90,917
£85,566
19
Derby
£423,393
£327,623
£203,279
£135,381
£83,932
£84,865
20
Southampton
£462,263
£396,079
£284,668
£200,519
£133,328
£82,234
To read this study in full, you can do so via the PensionBee website here.
Property
‘Major milestone’ as planning permission secured to transform Oldham town centre
Emily Sergeant
Planning permission has been granted for six transformational sites in Oldham town centre, with developers calling it a ‘major milestone’.
This approval marks a key step forward in Muse Places and Oldham Council‘s long-term partnership with a shared ambition to deliver a ‘vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable’ town centre that not only reflects Oldham’s heritage but also meets the needs of the people who live there.
Following ‘extensive consultation’ with the local community earlier this year, where hundreds of people took park and shared valuable feedback to help shape the proposals, a total of 1,619 new homes will be delivered as part of the plans, offering a mix of high-quality, energy-efficient apartments designed for families, older people, and young professionals.
The plans also include social and affordable housing provision too in a bid to help more local people find a home that suits their needs and circumstances.
According to the Council and developers, the approved plans will bring underused sites back into ‘productive’ use and support a ‘cleaner, greener’ future for Oldham, opening the door to new opportunities for local businesses and communities alike.
“This decision marks a key milestone in delivering on our promises for Oldham,” commented Cllr Arooj Shah, who is the Leader of Oldham Council.
Planning permission has been secured to transform Oldham town centre / Credit: Muse Places
“Oldham Council and Muse have a shared, ambitious vision to create a quality place that people genuinely want to spend time in.
“I am thrilled that we can continue moving forward with our plans, delivering high-quality homes, including the provision of social and affordable homes to meet local needs. We will also support local businesses and create opportunities for everyone, as part of a clean, green and sustainable future.
“Together, we are creating a place that we can all be proud of.”
Site investigation works are now complete at the Civic Centre, and works at Prince’s Gate will begin shortly, followed by the former Magistrates’ Court later this year.
With planning consent secured and preparatory works underway, construction at Prince’s Gate is expected to begin this autumn.
Featured Image – Muse Places
Property
Authorities prepare to ‘turn the tide’ on Greater Manchester’s housing crisis
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester is preparing to ‘turn the tide’ on its housing crisis by building new homes and protecting renters.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has set out its comprehensive plan to connect communities to new jobs and opportunities, drive up standards across the rental sector, and build new homes – with the latter helping to fulfil its Housing First ambition give everyone access to a ‘safe, secure, and affordable’ home by 2038.
This week has already seen a ‘renewed focus’ on driving up housing standards thanks to the naming of the first supporters of Greater Manchester’s bold new Good Landlord Charter.
New analysis also shows that GMCA’s Brownfield Housing Fund, which was set up in 2020, has already provided grants to deliver more than 15,000 homes, with an average of just over 45% being affordable housing.
But, there’s still a long way to go.
🏡 Today at #Housing2025, we marked a major milestone: Over 50% of rented homes in Greater Manchester are now covered by the Good Landlord Charter 🎉
— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) June 26, 2025
GMCA says those recent successes will not stand alone, but rather support plans to deliver more social housing than is lost across the region.
Unlocking brownfield land is what authorities claim is the key to turning the tide on the housing crisis, as since its inception in 2020, as mentioned, Greater Manchester has invested a whopping £135.4 million from the Brownfield Housing Fund to redevelop underused brownfield land, which ultimately delivered thousands of new homes.
It’s anticipated that further funding allocations will come in the summer to supplement those already approved and in the works.
GMCA is also using the power of Mayoral Development Corporations (MDC) – which are statutory bodies set up by the Mayor Andy Burnham, designed to speed up development and attract investment within a specific area – to unlock regeneration opportunities, as these ‘pioneering’ tools bring together local partners and drive forward the authority’s ambitions to build new homes, bring jobs and investment, and support economic growth.
Authorities are preparing to ‘turn the tide’ on Greater Manchester’s housing crisis / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Some of these MDCs currently include Old Trafford (part of the proposed Western Gateway Mayoral Development Zone), the expanded Stockport MDC, and the Northern Gateway MDC (part of Atom Valley).
Together, these three alone are expected to deliver 27,250 homes over the next 15 years to help address the housing crisis.
“If we are serious about securing the long-term success of Greater Manchester, we need to free ourselves from the grip of the housing crisis,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham.
“Because of the decisions we’ve taken, Greater Manchester is now building more affordable homes than at any point since the turn of the millennium. We need to keep building on that momentum until we reach a tipping point where we build more social homes than we lose.
Emily Sergeant -
28th August 2020 
