Bower Retirement Services has claimed that around one in five clients have looked into downsizing their house to release equity with their financial advisers.

The firm says its Adviser Tracker Research shows increasing interest in using property wealth to help fund or boost retirement planning ,with the average adviser estimating 20% of clients are considering downsizing, with one in five advisers saying nearly a third of clients are considering downsizing.

However, lack of available homes to buy and the cost of moving are proving to be major barriers to plans to move to cheaper properties.

The main reason for not going ahead with downsizing is the fear of losing touch with family and friends. Around 70% of advisers say clients dropped plans to downsize because of family ties.

47% of advisers questioned said clients could not find suitable homes to move to while 37% blamed the cost of moving and feared they would not make enough money.

Andrea Rozario, chief corporate officer at Bower Retirement Services, said: “Downsizing is logical and sensible and should work for many over-55s homeowners if they can find the right house at the right price.

“It is clear however that it is not that simple as there are financial issues to deal with when moving house with stamp duty alone costing 5% on house prices above £250,000 which can make the decision to move uneconomic. Buying a £300,000 home would cost around £5,000 in stamp duty.

“When you add that to the emotional wrench of moving home with the risk of losing touch with family and friends it can make downsizing seem a bad idea.”

Meanwhile, the research found that 63% of advisers said their older clients are less worried about leaving money now with the main reason being that children are financially well-off.