Inside Britain's downsizing capital: The 'quaint' market town where the average detached house is £220k cheaper and couples say moving there is a 'no brainer'

27/01/2024

EXCLUSIVE: The district of East Lindsey, Lincs, is hailed to top place to downsize The average detached home there is £235k compared to £457k elsewhere in UK Families who have taken the downsizing plunge have celebrated doing so

Middle-aged couples are selling their houses and flocking to a ‘quaint’ market town in Lincolnshire that is quickly becoming the downsizing capital of Britain.

The desirable district of East Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, has been hailed as the number one place for ‘young downsizing’ Brits.

According to estate agent Hamptons, the quiet corner of eastern England, where the average home costs just £235,000, has seen buyers aged between 50 and 60 scrambling there from elsewhere in the country.

The area boasts fantastic architecture, history, bustling market towns, sandy beaches and the gorgeous Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – making it hugely popular among those looking for a change of scenery while also freeing up some cash by selling their existing properties.

With the average detached home in the UK now worth £457,222, those moving to East Lindsey could potentially release around £220,000.

Martin Wells, 59, who left Chesterfield in Derbyshire around 14 months ago with wife Maxine to buy a home in Spilsby, just 13 miles from the east coast.

St James’ Church in Louth town within the desirable district of East Lindsey, which has been crowned the top area for young Brits seeking to downsize

Pictured are the UK’s top 10 most popular downsizing hotspots, from the Isle of Wight to the Derbyshire Dales

And those that have taken the plunge told how they’ve had ‘no regrets’ over the relocation, insisting it was a ‘no-brainer’.

Martin Wells left Chesterfield in Derbyshire around 14 months ago with wife Maxine, 53, to buy a home in Spilsby, just 13 miles from the east coast.

The 59-year-old hospital maintenance worker said: ‘It was a no-brainer, really. We sold our two-bed detached house for £280,000 and bought a three-bed detached here for £198,000.

‘The house price was the obvious bonus, but there are loads of other factors too. We have a dog and it is a great area for walks, with the Wolds and coast so close by.

‘And I think it is just a much nicer, more relaxed pace of life living in a small market town with only a couple of thousand people then a big place like Chesterfield.

‘I would say it’s a lot more laid-back. I understand that it’s not everyone but we have a much better quality of life. We absolutely love it.

‘I commute over to Derbyshire, and stay over during the week. I condense three or four days’ work into a week, so then I have a three or four day weekend here.

‘It’s been a great move, and we don’t regret it for a minute.’

NHS worker Rachael Saunders, also lives near Spilsby. She moved from Hertfordshire with her husband and their young daughter.

NHS worker Rachael Saunders, also lives near Spilsby. She moved from Hertfordshire with her husband and their young daughter

There’s plenty on offer for families moving to the area, with the seaside town of Skegness in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire proving a hit

East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, which is the district that has been named as the UK’s number one destination for ‘young downsizers’

The 43-year-old said: ‘We bought a three-bed bungalow for around £200,000. It was the excellent grammar schools up here that enticed us.

‘We would have liked to have stayed in Hertfordshire, but you have to do what is best for your family. We needed to move – and £200,000 gets you virtually nothing there.

‘My parents actually followed us six months later. Sadly my father died not long after, but my mum still lives up here too, and loves it.

‘It is a very attractive area. Horncastle and Louth are lovely, quaint market towns. There are a lot of independent shops, traditional pubs, and of course the seaside.

‘So I can see why it has done so well in the survey, and why people want to move here. It makes a lot of sense.’

Debbie Bradley, 59, moved to Horncastle in August 2022 from Birmingham with husband Michael, 58.

The desirable market town of Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, has been popular with families downsizing

Debbie Bradley said she discovered the town after it appeared in a Google search for ‘best places to retire’ (Horncastle is pictured)

She said: ‘We are at an age where we wanted to slow down. I was a teacher and Michael was working shifts.

‘We wanted to downsize and have a more relaxed life. And we wanted to live near the sea. I Googled “best places to retire” and Horncastle came up. We were able to sell our three-bed semi in Birmingham for £335,000 and buy a bungalow here for £225,000.

‘It’s been a wonderful decision. Everyone here is so friendly, and it’s so quiet. It’s perfect – we are just 30 minutes from Lincoln if we want the amenities of a city, and there is some beautiful countryside right on our doorstep.

‘We are both still working, but have stepped away from more stressful roles. My husband is a caretaker, and I’m now a teaching assistant.

‘I don’t regret a thing. Even when I go back to Birmingham now to visit family, it is so stressful driving through a big city. I can feel my stress levels rising, and I certainly don’t miss that.

‘It is all about a better quality of life.’

Retired furnishings worker Graham Rawson, 73, moved to Horncastle six years ago from nearby Louth, but has previously lived outside the district.

Retired furnishings worker Graham Rawson, 73, moved to Horncastle six years ago from nearby Louth

The British seaside town of Skegness in the East Lindsey a district of Lincolnshire, England, showing the coastguard station on the beach on a sunny day

He said: ‘I am one of those that has been away, but came back.

‘I can completely understand why people are downsizing here. You can get a four-bed detached home with a garage for £400,000. In London you can barely get a one-bed flat for that.

‘I think a lot of people discovered places like East Lindsey during the Covid-19 pandemic. And of course with the rise in working from home people can downsize here, get an awful lot more for their money, and continue with their jobs.

‘The value for money you get with property here is obviously a big draw, but it also depends on what you want out of life. There is a lot of history, some lovely buildings, beautiful pubs and churches, and clearly you have the beaches of the east coast and some gorgeous rolling countryside. My wife enjoys cycling, and it is perfect for that.

‘Another factor for people in their 50s and 60s is that they will possibly have children at work or university spread right across the country.

‘East Lindsey isn’t that far from anywhere – with the roads and East Coast rail line you can be in the likes of London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield or Leeds in under three hours. So you are sort of right in the middle, here.

‘We know a lot of people who have moved here from other parts of Britain, and no-one has ever expressed any regrets.’

Another hotspot is Torridge, in the south west, with those aged between 50 and 60 accounting for one in six movers.

Property is slightly more expensive than in East Lindsey, with the the average house costing £309,000, while £230,000 would get you a terraced house and £153,000 could buy you a flat.

Both districts have similar selling points, with North Devon’s heritage coast running along the north of the district, while Dartmoor National Park and Cornwall are its neighbours.

Meanwhile the most expensive downsizing top spot according to Hamptons was the Derbyshire Dales. Terraced homes cost £259,000 in the East Midlands beauty spot, while flats cost an average of £191,000.

Lincolnshire’s countryside is full of towns and villages where families have already moved to in order to downsize (Horncastle is pictured)

Those looking for the most bang in their buck can head to Boston, also in the Midlands. Here flats can be bought for less than £100,000, and terraced houses in the area cost little more, at £136,000.

Those selling an average family home and moving to Boston could release between £325,000 and £370,000, analysts have claimed.

However, selling family home is not without its pit falls, with moving away from family and friends making it challenging for some, Darryl Dhoffer, from The Mortgage Expert warned.

There is also the matter of the cost involved in it. While downsizers might be releasing a chunk of capital from their family home, they will still need to stump up cash to pay for estate agent and legal fees, surveys and moving.

And if the property being bought it worth more than £250,000 there’s stamp duty that has to be taken into consideration.

This would see any prospective downsizer stumping up £2,500 in duty land tax on a property worth £300,000, or £7,500 for homes worth £400,000. On top of this, the Halifax claims the average cost of moving home in Britain is almost £12,000.

Austyn Johnson, a mortgage broker, told the Telegraph: ‘Downsizing only works if you can actually afford it.’

But for retired Derek Worsley, 63, moved to the East Lindsey from Bedford in 2003 with wife Fiona, 62, and their two children, was one of the best decisions he’d ever made.

He said: ‘We relocated over 20 years ago but I don’t think things have changed much in terms of the overall situation.

‘Back then, we bought a bungalow with land for £240,000. A similar property in Bedford was £750,000.

‘I worked in the City but commuted a couple of times a week. You can get trains from Newark or Grantham, which are both less than 60 minutes away, to London with a journey time of just over an hour. But after a couple of years I resigned from that and started a small business up here.

‘Looking back now, moving here was one of the best decisions we ever made.’