Britain’s ageing population is a “ticking time bomb” for the housing market, says a report from a network of estate agents.

Everyone is talking about the problems of first-time buyers, says the report, but who is thinking about the growing number of last-time buyers?

Government and council planners are not yet tackling a looming problem of housing for Britain’s ageing population – the ‘last-time buyers’.

This is the verdict of the country’s largest network of independent estate agents, Home Sale Network, which has 740 quality-selected members throughout the country.

The Home Sale Network surveyed its members on the topic of the ageing population, with a massive 82% of respondents reporting having seen no evidence that their local council is addressing the anticipated housing shortage for the elderly.

More than half (59%) of respondents said that the UK is heading for a crisis if planners do not find solutions to cope with the elderly population 25 years from now.

It is a fact that people are living longer. It is estimated that by 2031, there will be approximately 15 million people over pensionable age in the UK. Therefore, members were also asked how the housing industry should accommodate an ageing population.

58% of Home Sale Network members believe a possible solution would be to plan and build more ‘sheltered housing’ schemes (buildings where elderly people live independently, while having access to common areas and 24 hour emergency care).

More than a third of members (37%) think the Government should make it mandatory for developers to include an element of sheltered housing for the aged in all future mixed developments, alongside existing demands for affordable and social housing.

And 21% of Home Sale Network members said more homes should be planned and built to Lifetime Homes Standards (a housing concept introduced in 1991 that incorporates, at the design and construction stage, the ability to make future changes easily).

Only 5% of those questioned said that their local council is taking steps to accommodate the ageing population by insisting, for example, that retirement homes are an element of all new developments. And 13% believe their local council may be talking about the issue, but has yet to begin addressing the housing needs of the elderly population in their area.

According to Richard Tucker, Managing Director of Home Sale Network: “Throughout the sustained period of house price inflation, all the focus has been on the plight of first-time buyers and key workers. Meanwhile we have a ticking time bomb of an ageing population of last-time buyers, who also need to find suitable and affordable homes.”

“While the recent report by Kate Barker, commissioned by the Deputy Prime Minister, addressed the need to boost housing supply for the working population, there was no reference to Britain’s growing population of elderly people. Our fear is that no-one, in Government or in local planning authorities, has spotted the imminent housing crisis for elderly people.”