I listen to a lot of alternative news and media including financial info as I'm an accountant and am very interested in economics. Anyway, I recently heard a financial person [can't remember his title] talking about how homes are no longer your nest egg for retirement as the price of homes is on the downward side of the curve after years of going through the roof. I doubt your house is going to increase in value much in the coming years as the economy continues to tank in spite of what the government says.

If you find a place you like, and can sell your house for a fair price, I'd do it.

Thanks for input thus far, very much appreciated. I agree that home prices don't soar forever- and they never soared in our area anyway. Home prices may indeed be on the downward side of the curve ( don't know, I'm no expert, but I can see how it could be possible).

The sheer number of Baby Boomers heading into their 60s and beyond (raising hand) is sizable and a fair number of them want less home to maintain. So even though the thought if leaving our "forever" home saddens me, we're on the hunt for a new home. May take awhile. After years of being in the doldrums, (even in good weather and house hunting season), home sales are heating up again. so decent homes at fair prices are getting snapped up.

I've seen several friends' parents make the decision to move. Several others had to make the decision after parents fell too many times. It's better to decide on your own what you prioritize: single story, no sunken living rooms, less space to keep up inside and out, trolley access to downtown, birding nearby, golf course adjacent, whatever. Redoing bathrooms for better access is expensive and can be planned for rather than redone on zero notice after a fall.

In terms of building from scratch, it is much, much better to hire an architect who usually works in your price range (not two or three times higher) than to try to design everything yourself.

Many people like picking out new recliners and other new living room furniture that is less formal than their old things. Lots of people store old artwork in closets, approximately forever, because they think they will want it someday.

we sold the home we raised our children in coming on 6 years ago now, when our youngest was a junior in college. but we didnt downsize, we resized.

square footage stayed about the same, but we went from a half acre lot to a pocket lot. two car garage with 2 car wide driveway to no garage, 3 car tandem driveway. 4 bedrooms to 5 bedrooms (oops) and 3 bathrooms to 4 bathroom (oops again), we traded a tv room on the first floor to one in a bedroom on the second floor.

what we left was "typical suburbia" where every errand required driving at least 3 miles, and the near by "big city" (boston) an hour away. what we arrived at was a neighborhood with a walkability score of 88 where i get in the car once every other week to do a big grocery shop, the rest of my errands to library, post office, whole foods, 30+ restaurants, 6 different bus lines are a block away. we're able to go into boston all the time for red sox games, concerts, museums.

we also arrived at a house that can adequately hold our children and their SOs/spouses (and hopefully grandchildren) on the third floor so they have their own space.

we went from 1970s dreary house to 1870s amazing architecture.

and yes it cost more.

but we didnt have to spend so much on a house to achieve the amenities of moving to a new area.

so, look at this as not just an opportunity to have a house that is easier to care for look at it as an opportunity to change the style of your life, to be nearer what you want.

as we drove away from our old neighborhood we felt we had made a lucky escape. and i really liked the place!

I know of three scenarios, personally. The first involved a number of moves both up and down in scale, and twice across country; the only painful ones involved the loss of family heirlooms due to time constraints. The second involved moving in w younger relatives to an unknown place - as Hal is decribing - which elicited months of sobbing, fear and confusion trying to get to the grocery store alone, and the repeated question " why have you done this to us?" The third involved a couple who never moved, could not care for themselves or their house adequately, and were then subject to a long train of aides and hired hands - they were robbed, periodically neglected by their in home care givers, and remain in their home now only because another family member gave up her house and job to give them the gift of dying in theirs.

In all three instances, the regret and sense of loss came from not making a decision soon enough to control the outcome. Downsizing itself had nothing to do with it - treasures can be gifted to loved ones, designing a smaller space is a new opportunity ( certainly not a problem!), and less room can be wonderfully freeing.

I think you are considering your next transition at just the right time, and suggest that you might consider yourselves to be paying more money ( should that be your case) for a home better customized to your needs, rather than for less square footage.

Thanks so much for opinions thus far. I forgot to mention that we have a special needs (adult ) son and I just saw a possible condo option that might be ideal- enough space, low maintenance , etc. He will be upset to leave the only home he has known (we adopted him when he was 5) but on he other hand we don't want him facing more challenges as we age.

We have a special needs plan for him and family members to watch over him after we're gone but until then I think a condo might be the best choice. Homes come with unknown surprises and this condo is move in ready. Trouble is, we can't leap in it till we sell our house. We are frantically update and paring down.

Maybe another condo will open up there when we can move.,

In that case, I would keep his furniture for his bedroom so that he will feel comfortable. Plus his knick knacks.

Thanks for the extra support. You have all been so encouraging!

I did see a condo today which actually has a downstairs ( a few step below main level) basement with its own bedroom and even a larger room next to it, perfect for a television, which means our son could have his own suite! That is better than his current room. And it is very nice, a generous sized suite.

Of course there woud be sacrifices- very small dining area , open plan, next to very compact upstairs living room ( but the living room does have a nice fireplace), a gallery type kitchen ( ours is eat- in), etc.

But there are 2 additional bedrooms on the man floor and one has a walk- in closet which we don't have now. The condos are very close together and we'd lose any real yard ( my spouse loves his bird feeders, watching birds) but I think that might be possible on the small patio there. Noise might be an issue when we are outside ( we don't have any here).

We have grand kids and our home has always been the landing place during holidays. They lbe out of town in a tiny starter home.

But I think we could set up a temporary dining room in the basement suite area ( looks more like a casual family room, even has a wet bar) .

Anyway, much food for thought! All additional input appreciated. This is a tough choice.

And I do have to add that part of me aches to think of selling our home. But when I crunch the numbers I would rather have a financially secure and less worrisome home situation. The maintenance expenses on our current home are never ending!

It is wise to make the change on your own terms, not in a time of a health crisis.

When you have chosen a new place, measure the rooms if possible. If the rooms are smaller than you have, put tape on the floor in your current home and arrange your furniture within those lines. You will then know the items you need to let go. Sell the items of value/consignment shop, donate to a charity shop and pass on items to family if they want them. Don't feel offended if they decline. The more you can do before the move, the better.

My husband and I are in a 1275 square ft bungalow with a full basement, in our late 50's. It may have seemed small while raising our 2 boys but it's manageable now for the 2 of us. My goal is to keep things we use and love, comfort without formality, still stylish and clutter-free. I am constantly paring down, reassessing every year, clearing closets, gaining free time, bonus...less cleaning time.

I regret buying a queen size bed for the guest room, I should have chosen a Murphy bed so I could use this room as a den or office 90% of the time. If I can offer some advice, don't try to accommodate your extended family so much, just make your new space ideal for the three of you. As time goes on, we all hand over the 'reigns' to the next generation, let them accommodate you! Embrace it.

We have also "resized", moved from a multi level to a single level, the single level has a bigger kitchen and master bath, but much less storage. The square footage is the same. We are renovating, and increasing the storage with what we hope are smart choices, like moving the washer dryer from the tiny room between the garage and kitchen, and putting them in the master bath, turning that tiny room into a pantry. While we did move most of our furniture to the new home, so that we had something to sit on while renovating (LOL!) but we are replacing much of whats left to reflect our new life.

We downsized somewhat 18 months ago (2200 sf to 1700 sf) from a beautiful 100 year old four square with original woodwork , high ceilings, you name it. The upkeep, maintenance, heating/cooling, etc was high--too high for us and too high for a couple of potential buyers as well. We took advantage of a slight housing uptick to resize to a 1960s ranch, with a finished basement, 3 blocks from my work that we purchased for roughly the same price that we sold our other home for. But the heating/cooling, ease of maintenance far out ways the cost of the move. This home has a new roof, furnace, AC, some replacement windows (and we have since replaced the rest) and complete basement water/sump pump system (highly suggested for our area), newer bathrooms--you get the idea. Since we lived in our last home for 15 years we were able to transfer a great deal of equity from that home to this one.

Unfortunately, we chose to do some extensive remodeling (kitchen and now the backyard patio and landscaping) to better fit our current lifestyle. This home is much more casual although we entertain just as frequently, with no formal dining room, but the kitchen is eat-in. For large parties, like our yearly Thanksgiving (25+ people), we rent tables and chairs and set up in the oversized, heated garage.

We gave away a LOT of furniture to family and friends. Luckily our married daughter just bought her first home and she was able to take some of our more valued family antiques. I literally had a ton of household "stuff" in our 3 season porch (old house) and invited anyone who stopped over to pick out what they liked, the leftovers I donated. Now I can visit my "stuff" at their homes!

We dowsized 4 years ago to a home less than 1/2 the size we had been living in for over 25 years. Our biggest influence was to start putting the money towards our retirement vs paying higher and higher taxes, utilities, etc....better in our pockets. I've only regretted a few things we sold and yes it's sad to leave your home, but once you find the "one" (it took us over a year to find ours)...you'll be excited about the next phase in your life and what the new home offers. Don't compromise and take your time, since you have that option right now.

i realize i was missing one word in my resize story, my two children with spouses get the 3rd floor when they VISIT for a week at christmas. if i didnt have the third floor they wouldnt stay a whole week, thats for sure. so hooray for a 3rd floor.

I talked to a trusted realtor who helped sell a parent's home after she passed away. . After reading the very helpful comments that are here so far, I think we may still want a home but one more suited to us- a ranch, possibly with something like in-law space at one end for our son. He already has a separate bedroom, den and bathroom. So something similar would be great.

What I'll miss: the huge stone fireplace, large private fenced deck off master bedroom, the neighbors and tight knit community on our street, the bookcase room with the Murphy bed ( I use those bookcases and the space regularly) , seeing years of memories in every room. But life changes. New memories are waiting to be made.

And, just like nnigrt does, we have extended family who stay for a week over the holidays. Nnigrt, glad you explained about that 3rd floor. When you wrote,that you used the 3rd floor for your children, their SOs/spouses (and hopefully grandchildren) ,, I thought maybe everyone was sharing your house-year round.

Guests currently share an upstairs bathroom with our son, with double sinks and a pocket door separating the tub and toilet area from the sink area. The bathroom in the master bedroom came with one sink. My husband and I didn't care but we'll tweak it for resale, add a sink, etc. Apparently, as one friend told me, "double sinks save marriages." Anyway, people now want them.

I appreciate the suggestion to measure rooms and figure out what can stay or go. Keeping the heirloom and gorgeous dining table I inherited from my mother is a priority. It reminds me of family dinners, laughter, and great times from my childhood. Very few other pieces of our current furniture are irreplaceable,

BetteP- so interesting that you mentioned your regrets about not buying the Murphy bed. We bought one for our guest room. It is a very high quality one (was pricy) which uses a real queen mattress, not one of those thin and uncomfortable ones made just for some Murphy beds.

It is a bed/bookcase combo and the bed hides behind the very usable book shelves when needed. So we do have that office and guest space you mentioned. If you can afford it, I'd urge you to invest in a quality Murphy bed and let go of the one you have. It made a huge difference in how we use the guest room most of the year (as-n office).

Our current home, over 3500 square feet, is 5 bedrooms ( one is now our son's den) If the space was all on one floor, the home was newer, heating costs were lower, and the huge backyard and side lot were smaller, we'd consider staying.

But we have 2 huge decks which need maintenance, regular repairs, staining (used to love the decks,now they're extra work). When we had 3 kids at home, this was a dream house (still will be for the right family since we kept it in good shape, updated kitchen, etc)