How Much House Do You Really Need After Retirement?
One of the hardest parts of downsizing is deciding how much house you will actually need after retirement.
A smaller home can mean less cleaning, lower upkeep, and fewer weekend jobs. But going too small can create a different problem. You may miss the space you used for family visits, hobbies, storage, or simply having some separation in the house.
The goal is not to find the smallest home possible. It is to find a home that fits the way you expect to live.
CMHC recommends looking at both your current and future needs when considering housing in retirement. That includes how much space you need, how much maintenance you want, your budget, mobility needs, and how close you want to be to family and services.
For homeowners in Carleton Place, Almonte, Perth, and across Lanark County, there are several types of homes that may work. Before choosing one, it helps to get very practical about the space you use today.
Start With the Bedrooms You Actually Use
Walk through your current home and think about how each bedroom has been used over the last year.
Not how it was used when your children lived at home. Not how you imagined you would use it. How do you use it now?
Many people have three or four bedrooms because that was what their family needed years ago. Once the children leave, some of those bedrooms become storage rooms or spaces that are opened only when someone visits.
That does not automatically mean you should move to a one-bedroom home.
Think about how often you expect people to stay overnight. Children may come home for holidays. Grandchildren may stay for weekends. Friends or relatives may visit from out of town.
A second bedroom can be very useful. A third bedroom may still make sense for some families.
The important question is whether those rooms are earning their keep.
If several bedrooms sit empty most of the year, you may be maintaining space for a life you no longer live.
Think About Guests Without Buying a House for Guests
One concern I often hear is, “Where will everyone stay?”
It is a fair question. Family matters.
But it is worth separating occasional needs from everyday needs.
If grandchildren sleep over twice a month, an extra bedroom may be important. If adult children visit from another province for a week every Christmas, guest space could also be high on your list.
If overnight visitors come only once or twice a year, maintaining several extra bedrooms may not make sense.
There are other options. A den can hold a pull-out sofa. A flexible room can work as an office most of the year and a guest room when needed.
You are looking for enough space to welcome people without paying for and maintaining a house designed around a few days each year.
Do You Still Want a Basement?
Basements offer a lot of space.
They can hold a workshop, storage, a television room, holiday decorations, exercise equipment, and all the things that do not have an obvious place upstairs.
They also come with stairs.
That may not matter today. It could matter ten years from now.
CMHC’s guidance on accessible and adaptable housing encourages people to think ahead about how a home may work as mobility changes. Features such as fewer level changes, accessible entrances, wider doorways, and adaptable living spaces can make it easier to remain at home over time.
If most of the storage and laundry are in the basement, ask yourself whether you would still want to use those stairs several times a week in the future.
You do not have to rule out basements. Some people love having one.
Just make sure you want the basement itself, rather than simply assuming every house should have one.
Decide How Much Yard You Want to Look After
A large yard can be one of the best parts of living in Carleton Place, Almonte, Perth, or the rural parts of Lanark County.
It can also become a significant job.
Think about a typical summer. How much time do you spend cutting grass, trimming hedges, gardening, cleaning up branches, maintaining a deck, and looking after the exterior of the property?
Then ask a simple question.
Do you still enjoy doing it?
There is an important difference between work you enjoy and work you tolerate.
Some retirees genuinely want a large garden and room to work outside. Others would rather have a small patio, a manageable garden bed, and more time for travel or family.
CMHC specifically recommends considering how much home and yard maintenance you want when looking at housing options later in life.
Downsizing does not have to mean giving up outdoor space. It can simply mean choosing an amount you still enjoy looking after.
Be Honest About the Garage
Double garages are another feature people can be reluctant to give up.
Sometimes there is a good reason.
If you have two vehicles, bikes, tools, a motorcycle, kayaks, or a serious workshop, a double garage may remain useful.
But look at what is actually inside yours.
If half the garage has become long-term storage, the real issue may not be garage space. It may be deciding what you want to bring into your next stage of life.
This is often where the practical side of downsizing becomes tied to a much bigger conversation about possessions.
How to Prepare Your Home for Sale When Downsizing in Carleton Place may help if you are starting to look around the house and wondering what would come with you.
And if the idea of moving feels more complicated than simply finding another property, that is normal too.
Let One Flexible Room Do More Than One Job
A useful downsizing home does not necessarily need a separate room for every activity.
One flexible room can often solve several problems.
A den might be an office during the week, a sewing room in the evening, and a guest room when family visits.
A spare bedroom could include a desk and hobby storage.
A finished area beside the kitchen might provide space for reading, puzzles, crafts, or grandchildren without requiring another formal living room.
When viewing homes, try not to focus only on the labels used in the listing.
A “bedroom” does not have to remain a bedroom. A “den” may be more useful than a third bedroom. A dining room that you would rarely use could become something entirely different.
Think in terms of functions rather than room names.
Make Room for the Hobbies You Plan to Keep
Retirement often creates more time for the things that were squeezed into evenings and weekends.
That might mean woodworking, gardening, painting, quilting, exercise, reading, music, or restoring an old car.
Those activities need space.
Before deciding how small you can go, think carefully about what you want retirement to include.
There is little benefit in buying a smaller home only to discover that your favourite hobby no longer has a place.
You may decide that two bedrooms are enough but a workshop is essential. Someone else may happily give up a garage in exchange for a bright room for painting.
This is why square footage alone is not a very useful way to choose your next home.
How the space works matters more.
Ask Whether the Home Will Work in Ten Years
A home can be perfect at 65 and frustrating at 75.
That does not mean you need to predict every future health need. You cannot.
You can still look for a home that gives you options.
CMHC’s work on universal design recommends thinking about homes that can adapt as people’s abilities change. Practical features can include fewer stairs, no-step access, wider doorways, and bathrooms that can accommodate changing mobility needs.
Look beyond whether you can manage the home today.
Could the main bedroom be on the main floor?
Is there a full bathroom nearby?
Would daily life still work if stairs became difficult?
Could a shower be changed more easily than a bathtub?
Is the driveway manageable in winter?
These questions are much easier to consider while choosing a home than after you have moved into one.
Think About Maintenance as Part of the Size Decision
When people talk about downsizing, they often focus on square footage.
Maintenance may be more important.
A 1,600-square-foot bungalow on a large rural lot could create more work than a larger condo where much of the exterior maintenance is handled for you.
Think about the whole property.
Roofing, windows, snow removal, lawn care, gardens, driveways, decks, exterior painting, septic systems, wells, and outbuildings can all affect the amount of work a property requires.
The right amount of maintenance is personal.
Some people want projects. Others have spent decades caring for a family home and would prefer fewer responsibilities.
This is where comparing housing types becomes useful. Bungalow vs Condo vs Adult Lifestyle Community: Which Is Best for Downsizers? looks at some of those trade-offs.
Location Can Change How Much House You Need
The home itself is only part of the decision.
Where you live may change what you need from the property.
Someone living close to shops, trails, cafés, recreation, and family may spend more time outside the house. Someone on a rural property may want more space at home for hobbies, storage, vehicles, and outdoor activities.
Carleton Place, Almonte, and Perth each offer a different mix of housing, services, walkability, and community feel.
That can affect what type of downsizing home feels comfortable.
If you are still deciding where you want to land, Carleton Place vs Almonte vs Perth for Downsizers is a useful place to start.
Do Not Choose the Next House Before You Know the Next Life
There is a temptation to start browsing listings right away.
I usually think there is value in doing some homework first.
Write down what you definitely need. Then write down what would be nice to have.
Think about bedrooms, guests, hobbies, stairs, yard size, garage space, storage, maintenance, and location.
Then consider what you would be comfortable giving up.
Once those priorities are clear, looking at homes becomes much easier. You can judge each property against your actual life rather than being distracted by features that look attractive during a showing.
There is also the question of timing. Some homeowners want to secure the next property before putting their current house on the market. Others prefer to sell first.
Downsizing Is Really About Rightsizing
The right retirement home is not automatically a condo, bungalow, townhouse, or small house.
And smaller is not automatically better.
The better question is whether the home has enough space for the life you want, without leaving you responsible for rooms, land, and maintenance you no longer need.
For one person, that might mean a two-bedroom condo.
For another, it could be a bungalow with a small garden and double garage.
Someone else may want a compact home with a workshop because hobbies are going to be a major part of retirement.
There is no standard retirement floor plan.
There is simply a point where the house begins to fit you again.
If you’re thinking about this and want to talk it through, I’m here.
About the author
Lynn Vardy, REALTOR®
I have 19+ years in real estate and work with RE/MAX Boardwalk Realty. I help families in Carleton Place, Lanark County, Kanata and Stittsville buy and sell through big life changes, like downsizing, divorce and estate sales. I have been through some of these moves with my own family, so I know it is about much more than the house.
Keep reading
- How to Downsize Your Home in Carleton Place Without Feeling Overwhelmed
- Why Downsizing Shouldn’t Be Rushed (Even When It Makes Sense on Paper)
- Should You Downsize for Retirement in Carleton Place?
Thinking about downsizing? My free Downsizing Road Map walks you through each step, at your own pace.