Three out of four Americans aged 50-plus want to age in place, according to AARP’s national 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey (1). That usually means downsizing.
But for some, upsizing is a better decision. Imagine Christine and her husband Steve, both 69, who downsized a year ago, buying a two-bedroom unit in a full-service condo.
Now they’re rethinking their decision.
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They made the move thinking it would free them up to travel more, but they’re spending more time at home than they expected. Christine has turned the spare bedroom into a crafting and hobby room.
Plus, their daughter and son-in-law have turned to Christine and Steve for regular babysitting duty during the week. Now the couple are wondering if it actually makes more sense to upsize.
Christine, who has started quilting, wants a bigger space to work on larger sewing projects. Steve wants a ‘man cave’ where he can watch football and drag racing.
Is it worth upsizing?
The upsides of upsizing in retirement
Upsizing can enhance quality of life, providing more space for family visits or home-based hobbies as many retirees are “realizing their dreams” of spending more time with family and friends (58%) and pursuing hobbies (43%), according to 2024’s Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey (2).
It allows for flexibility along the continuum of life. It could make sense for multigenerational households — say, if you’re regularly babysitting your grandchildren, as 19% of the Transamerica survey respondents are — or if your adult children help out with caregiving duties.
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It could provide space for a live-in caregiver, or serve as an extra source of income if you rent out a room, basement apartment or garden suite.
Bigger house, bigger challenges
Moving is costly — from selling your home and buying a new one to moving costs themselves, which can range from $1,200 to $29,000, depending on how much stuff you’re moving, how far you’re moving and if you want professional movers to do the heavy lifting.
You may not net as much from your sale as you hope, meaning you may have to dip into your retirement savings or borrow money to get a bigger home.
Currently, it’s a buyers’ market. In fact, Redfin said summer 2025 was the strongest buyers’ market to date (3).
Meanwhile, the average 30-year mortgage rate sits at 7.04%, according to data from Freddie Mac.
Even if you buy a big home in a more affordable area (4), larger homes come with higher utility bills, maintenance and insurance costs.
If you need to hire someone for maintenance and repairs — such as regularly mowing the lawn — you’ll need to account for that in your retirement budget.
While it may be unpleasant to think about, if one spouse dies sooner than expected, or if the grandkids don’t visit as often as you counted on, then a big, empty house could also end up feeling rather lonely.
Key questions to consider before upsizing
Before upsizing, Christine and Steve may want to answer some key questions:
- Are there other expenses we need to budget for, such as more furniture to fill a larger home?
- Can we afford this while still preserving a financial cushion for emergencies and health care?
- Are we prepared for the extra work (such as maintenance) that comes with a larger home?
- Will we still want or be able to live in a bigger space in 10 to 15 years?
- Is this larger home suitable to an aging-in-place lifestyle (e.g., are there too many stairs)?
- How will this move affect our estate plan and heirs?
Working with a financial advisor to run the numbers can help couples like Christine and Steve determine whether upsizing would be the right move for their retirement years.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
AARP (1); Transamerica Institute (2); Redfin (3); US News (4)
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