--- title: The Real Cost of Staying in Your Home After 65 — and When Downsizing Makes Financial Sense description: Downsizing in retirement may help you save more money than you think. Here's what to consider. authors: - name: Marc Guberti url: https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/ bio: Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who hosts Breakthrough Success, a podcast where he teaches listeners how to grow their businesses and achieve personal transformations. at_money_since: 2024 articles: 437 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-04-18T13:00:58.000Z' section: Retirement word_count: 413 canonical: https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Happy senior couple in their empty new apartment](https://img.money.com/2026/04/Explainer-Staying-At-Home-65.jpg) Saying goodbye to the home you’ve grown accustomed to when you retire can be a challenge. But it often makes financial sense to downsize, especially when you become an empty nester. While a mortgage is the largest expense most homeowners face each month, it’s not the only one to consider. Property taxes, insurance, repairs, utilities, and age-related upgrades add up. Taking a look at your investment portfolio, withdrawal rate, Social Security benefits, homes in your area and other details about your finances can help you make an optimal decision. ## What ‘staying put’ really costs after 65 People often think that a paid-off home is a cheap home, but there’s still a lot you have to pay for to maintain a home even after you’ve paid off your mortgage. Not only do those extra expenses add up, but property taxes and costs associated with homeowners insurance can increase over time. Costs related to maintenance, such as lawn care and snow removal, can also get more expensive due to inflation. Don’t forget about homeowners association (HOA) fees, if you have them. Retirees also need to factor in costs that could pop up in the future. For instance, you may need to make safety and accessibility-related upgrades to your home and hire help for chores if physical limitations set in. Separate costs, like those related to health care, could also take a bite out of your savings during this time. Even people who can keep up with monthly costs with their Social Security benefits may be financially vulnerable to significant one-off expenses. Mobility is another factor, as some people need to be in communities that make health services more accessible. If you stay put, consider how you will get to health care centers (and how much getting there will cost). ## When downsizing actually makes financial sense Downsizing can help anyone save money, but it can be especially helpful financially for retirees who are living off a fixed income. If you worry about outliving your investment portfolio and struggling to afford groceries in the near future, downsizing may make sense. However, the replacement home also has to make financial sense. Going from one expensive home to another high-cost property won’t help, but downsizing to a home that could lower your monthly housing costs by $1,000 or more could make a big difference. Don’t forget to factor in other changing costs — like taxes and insurance premiums, especially if you’re moving states — when finding a new home. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Real Cost of Staying in Your Home After 65 — and When Downsizing Makes Financial Sense" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/", "name": "The Real Cost of Staying in Your Home After 65 — and When Downsizing Makes Financial Sense", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-04-18T13:00:58.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/cost-of-staying-in-your-home-after-65/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "The Real Cost of Staying in Your Home After 65 — and When Downsizing Makes Financial Sense", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/04/Explainer-Staying-At-Home-65.jpg", "width": 2121, "height": 1414, "caption": "Explainer-Staying-At-Home-65" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marc Guberti", "url": "https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/#author", "description": "Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who hosts Breakthrough Success, a podcast where he teaches listeners how to grow their businesses and achieve personal transformations.", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2026-04-18T13:00:58.000Z", "description": "Downsizing in retirement may help you save more money than you think. 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