Housing Wealth
First timers to old timers

Author: Dominic Maxwell and Sonia Sodha
Contributors:
Price: £12.95
Publication Date: 29 May 2006

View a sample chapter 'Equity release and personalised advice'.

This book argues that combating the wealth inequalities produced by the growth in home ownership cannot be achieved with subsidies to help people onto the housing ladder. Nor can homeownership alone deliver the benefits associated with mixed communities, such as improved educational outcomes and increased levels of community participation. Rather than providing large subsidies, the government should support people at either end of the lifecycle with policies that encourage ownership of a wider range of assets.

The report also examines the potential of housing wealth to meet needs in retirement, and considers how government might make it easier for pensioners to use equity release products or trade down.

The report makes bold recommendations on how government can:

• support younger households
• reduce benefit disincentives for older people to release wealth from their homes
• improve advice services
• increase the supply of housing suitable for older people
• help older retired people trade down.