<p><span>Downsizing is key to addressing the UK’s “skewed” housing market, with almost 9 million households aged over 65 living in a house with “surplus” bedrooms thanks in part to unsuitable housing for older people, according to a report published by Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), Cass Business School and the <span>Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.</span></span><span></span></p><p><span>The report, <i>Too little, Too late? Housing for an ageing population</i>, states that there has been an underinvestment in purpose-built housing for the older generation, which would encourage downsizing and free up family homes.</span><span></span></p><p><span>According to the research, just 2.5% of the UK’s 29 million homes are classed as retirement housing. And only 7,000 new homes built each year are designed for older people, resulting in more than 15 million bedrooms being “surplus to requirements” across UK homes.</span><span></span></p><p><span>Author of the report, professor Les Mayhew, professor of statistics at Cass Business School, says that if this trend continues, the overall bedroom surplus - defined as more than one bedroom per person – is likely to exceed<span> 20 million in 2040, with almost 13 million people over the age of 65 living in “largely unsuitable households”.</span></span><span></span></p><p><span>The report makes a number of recommendations, including promoting the benefits of …