Study: Older people in particular need too much living space
Published: Thursday, Jun 6th 2024, 12:11
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Living space in Switzerland is scarce. But people are reluctant to give up (too) much living space. According to a study, "empty nesters" in particular, i.e. people whose children have already moved out, have more living space than they need.
According to the study "Housing use from an individual perspective" published on Thursday by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), there is a lot of potential among these mostly older people in particular that is not being sufficiently exploited.
It is true that the willingness to move increases with age. According to the study, a good quarter feel that their own home is then too big. 38 percent of them would have more than two rooms. If they live in their own home, the proportion rises to 61%.
Smaller apartment usually costs more
However, a lack of financial incentives often prevents people from moving. This is because the new rent for smaller apartments is often more expensive than the existing rent in a larger apartment that you have already lived in for a long time.
There is also a lack of social pressure: only one in three people surveyed thought that older couples or single people in overly large apartments should give up their living space to younger families.
Majority does not want less living space
However, despite the willingness to move in old age, for the vast majority of people surveyed - namely 70% - downsizing is "not an option". The respondents who were willing to move cited a surplus of two rooms as the "ideal" apartment size.
In terms of the number of rooms, 42% of those surveyed did not want to deviate from this "ideal". According to the authors of the study, the pressure to move in Switzerland "comes less from apartments that are too big than from apartments that are too small".
Own office "indispensable"
In addition, 61 percent of respondents would like to have an office within their own four walls. The office also plays an important role after working life. By contrast, less than 15 percent said that a dressing room or playroom was part of their current home.
The study was conducted by the ZHAW in collaboration with the Federal Housing Office (BWO), the Fédération Romande Immobilière, the Swiss Homeowners' Association and Raiffeisen Switzerland. A total of 1097 people in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland were surveyed in spring 2024.
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