Downsizing: money and lifestyle questions
Questions to work through before you sell the family home and move somewhere smaller.
- Name your main reason: money, upkeep, health or being near family. It changes how you decide.
- List the costs of selling and buying, then check your own numbers with a financial adviser.
- A smaller home still has rates, insurance and upkeep. Unit-title and retirement village fees can offset savings.
- Try the new lifestyle first, by renting or staying a while, before you list.
- Consider staying put with changes, such as an easier garden or a better bathroom.
Check the details. Check the numbers with an independent financial adviser, tax with your accountant, and wills with your lawyer.
Official pages
Shortened from a Berry article first written 2026-05-16. Figures we could not check against a public source were taken out. This is general information, not advice.