Research will look at how older people make decisions about home ownership

College of Humanities and Social Sciences researchers Dr Aisling Gallagher and Professor Juliana Mansvelt are conducting research into how older people in Aotearoa New Zealand make the choices and decisions about staying or moving home as they age, and what their experiences of this process. The research is supported by the Massey University Strategic Innovation fund 2023.

Dr Gallagher says an ageing population is an important factor influencing the demand, supply and suitability of housing in Aotearoa.

"Though home ownership rates are declining, the current baby boomer generation has a much higher home ownership rate than any of the subsequent generations, so their decision-making regarding their homes is of considerable importance for government, policy makers and society more generally.”

Before starting this research, Dr Gallagher and Professor Mansvelt found that although there has been considerable scholarship on the accrual of wealth through home ownership and the idea of the home as an investment for people's futures, there has been much less research on how homes might be divested, and the decisions and experiences of people endeavouring to release equity from their homes.  

“Our research aims to investigate the political, social and economic landscape in which choices and decisions to divest homes are made, and the choices, decisions and experiences of housing decumulation for people aged 55 and over,” Professor Mansvelt says.

The study will contribute knowledge on how financial choices impact the making and remaking of a home, provide insight and information on how decisions are being made around housing disinvestment and real stories of the experiences of equity release in later life.

The research will be of interest to individuals considering making these decisions, policy makers and scholars in the areas of critical housing studies, critical gerontology and social and economic geography.

“The emphasis to own, build up and latterly to release equity from your home as you reach retirement is of considerable interest to policy scholars and academics internationally,” Dr Gallagher says.

Research website

An important part of this research has been to set up the Housing as Home Research website created by Research Associate Dr Sy Taffel.

“We created this site to help us find out more about housing change in later life, especially for older homeowners who have made decisions about their home in later life. It includes a choice of three online surveys (being run from 10 October to 21 December 2023), and people over the age of 55 who have owned their own home and made decisions about divestment are invited to participate in one of the three surveys, and to volunteer for interviews,” Dr Gallagher explains.

The website also provides information about the research and will provide information on the study results when the research is completed.

“After we have gathered information from the online surveys, qualitative interviews will be conducted with participants focussing on individuals’ housing biographies and their choices and experiences of housing decumulation,” Professor Mansvelt says.

Dr Gallagher says they also hope to conduct interviews with banks, reverse mortgage providers, estate agents, advocacy groups and other agencies involved in facilitating and providing information on divestment.

About the researchers

Dr Gallagher and Professor Mansvelt are social geographers at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuora Massey University who examine how wider political and economic contexts intersect with the everyday lives and decisions of New Zealanders.

Dr Gallagher has conducted research on the privatisation of care systems in Aotearoa and elsewhere over the last 10 years. This new project allows her to extend her research to consider housing as a key aspect of everyday life for older New Zealanders and its role in provisioning for a ‘good’ retirement.

Professor Mansvelt has conducted research on the ageing and consumption practices of older New Zealanders over the last two decades, and is part of the Health and Ageing Research Team (HART) at Massey University. This project builds on her earlier work which considered the social, structural, and material constraints on the consumption choices and aspirations of older people.

This current project brings together Dr Gallagher’s expertise in the privatisation of welfare and Professor Mansvelt’s expertise in consumption, identity and place, to consider how housing needs and experiences change over the life-course.

“Through this research we aim to better understand the social and economic challenges around housing as home for older New Zealanders,” Dr Gallagher says.

Next steps

“When the research project is finished we plan to organise a symposium with interested parties to discuss the implications and future development of this research,” Professor Mansvelt says.

“We also plan to apply for funding to resource a wider study of the next generation of superannuants and the place of housing for their retirement years.”

If anyone over 55 is interested in taking part in the survey or being involved in an interview, please contact the researchers via the Housingashome.co.nz website.