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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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
Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Property
Much-loved Manc music shop Tasty Records goes up for sale as owners calls on next custodians to take over local favourite
Danny Jones
Much-loved Greater Manchester record and music store Tasty Records has officially closed, and the current custodian is putting the Trafford institution up for sale in hopes that someone will take over as worthy successors.
What an opportunity for any budding entrepreneurs.
The Alty record shop in its current brick-and-mortar form has stood for some time now, but popular owner Ben Molesworth has been selling physical media from 2012 onwards, and now his time at the helm of the hailed south Manchester spot has come to a somewhat bittersweet end.
A bit of a local legend with regulars who frequent and flick through his coveted vinyl collection, not just on Record Store Day but throughout the year, the area will be sad to see him go – and so will we – but it doesn’t mean this has to be the end.
“The shop deserves more than I can give it, and I have sold records in Altrincham for 14 years”, he explains, before going on to add that “It’s time for me to concentrate on different things.
“What happens now?” he continues, “Keep following! I’m not sure yet. I have closed the doors, but everything is still there… A busy website, Discogs, socials, a strong set of accounts and £ks of great vinyl stock.”
You’d think with a sales pitch like that, it would be a no-brainer for audiophiles who’ve ever dreamt of spending their days cataloguing their favourite tunes and artists, whilst providing a still criminally unsung public service: delivering printed music to the masses.
With more than a decade and a half of experience to his name, we’re sure Ben has plenty of wisdom to impart about how to take good care of his baby moving forward – he just needs some to set up to the plate/turntable.
As saturated as the Manc music market and record store scene is, it was also comfortably on this list pretty much since day one.
All that being said, part of the challenge for any independent business is getting the word out, hence why we thought we’d help do our bit by shouting about it.
He signed off by adding: “Thank you to all of my wonderful customers, friends and supporters. Tasty Recordsisn’t dead, only sleeping. Lots of love, Ben.”
For anyone who might fancy taking over this “awesome little record shop” (his words AND ours), you can express your interest/table an offer over email via [email protected].
What an honour it would be to carry on this place’s legacy – here’s hoping someone takes up the mantle soon.
Emily Sergeant -
28th August 2020 
