Should I age in place, or is it time to move?

Most older Ontarians would rather stay put than move. Federal research and industry surveys keep finding the same thing: the majority of adults want to age in the home they already know. But wanting to stay and being able to stay comfortably are two different things, and that gap is where most people get stuck. Here's an honest look at what the research says, what staying actually costs, and how to recognize when a smaller home might be the calmer choice.

What does the research say about staying put?

The data is remarkably consistent: most Canadians plan to stay. In an April 2026 RE/MAX Canada survey, only 16% of Canadians 65 and older said they plan to move to a smaller home within the next decade, while 46% said they plan to stay in their current home. A CMHC survey on aging in place found the same pull toward staying: 68% of seniors over 75 now prefer to remain in their current home, up from 32% in 2010.

Here's the part that matters. The same RE/MAX survey found that 65% of Canadians 65 and older say suitable downsizing options are scarce or nonexistent in their communities. In other words, a lot of people aren't refusing to move. They simply can't picture what they would move to. If you've lived in the same house for 30 years, that's a very common feeling, and it's one of the most fixable problems there is.

How do you know if your current home still fits?

Your house changes as you do. A home that was perfect when the kids were home can quietly become harder to live in, and the signs tend to show up one at a time. Ask yourself honestly:

• Do you use the stairs every single day? Bedrooms and laundry on a second floor are fine at 55 and a bigger deal at 75. If you catch yourself planning trips upstairs to avoid making two, that's information.
• Does the property feel like a job? Lawn care, gardens, snow removal, eavestroughs, furnace filters, that list of little repairs. A house can start to own you instead of you owning it.
• Are rooms sitting empty? When half the house is only used a few times a year, you're already maintaining space you don't live in.
• Do you still feel safe driving at night, in winter, or in town? The moment you start limiting when you leave the house, your community shrinks, whether you notice it or not.
• Is it getting quieter than you'd like? Isolation is one of the biggest invisible costs of staying in a home that's off the beaten path. Neighbours age and move, and suddenly a quiet street feels too quiet.

None of these are emergencies, and none of them mean you must move. But each one is worth naming, because decisions made deliberately are always better than decisions made in a hurry later.

What does staying actually cost?

On paper, staying can look like the cheaper choice, especially when your mortgage is paid off. But the full ledger is bigger than the mortgage. There's the deferred maintenance that tends to pile up on an older home, the seasonal work you either do yourself or pay someone else for, and the aging-in-place upgrades that most long-term plans eventually need, a main-floor bedroom, a walk-in shower, grab bars, better lighting on stairs.

There's also an opportunity cost that almost nobody talks about. For most retirees, the family home is the single largest asset they own, and a large part of it is tied up in space they no longer use. Equity sitting in a too-big house doesn't pay for travel, healthcare, or time with grandchildren. Sometimes the conversation isn't "can we afford to stay" but "what is this house costing us in the life we actually want?"

I'm not pushing anyone to sell. I've watched people thrive staying in the right home, and I've watched people stay in the wrong one out of loyalty to a building. The fix is to look at the whole picture, then decide on purpose.

If you do move, what should the next home do for you?

Downsizing isn't about buying a smaller version of what you have. It's about buying a home that does more of the work for you. The homes that fit this chapter best in Southern Georgian Bay are usually single-storey bungalows or main-floor-living condos and townhomes with walkable access to the things you use every week: groceries, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, a trail, the waterfront.

The good news is that this region has been steadily adding exactly those product types. Newer bungalow communities and low-maintenance townhome and condo developments in Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, and nearby areas are precisely the "suitable downsizing options" the surveys say people can't find. They exist here; the challenge is knowing which ones are actually well built, well run, and in the right spot for you. That's where a REALTOR® who works with downsizers every week earns their keep. My condo versus freehold guide walks through the trade-offs, and the buying guide covers what to check in any home you're considering.

How do you decide without regret?

Regret usually doesn't come from the move itself. It comes from deciding in a rush, or not deciding at all until a health event or a crisis forces the issue. If you're weighing this now, you're ahead of most people, and you have time to do it well.

Start by picturing a normal Tuesday two years from now. Not moving day, not the sale closing, just an ordinary Tuesday. Where do you wake up? Do you want to walk to breakfast along the waterfront, spend the afternoon at the golf course or the trail, and never think about a snowblower? Or does staying among your familiar neighbours and your gardens still give you more than it costs you?

Then make it real by visiting. Spend an afternoon in the communities you're drawn to, walk the neighbourhood you might live in, tour a bungalow or a new townhome, and compare the feeling against the numbers, what you'd keep, what you'd spend, what your equity would do for you. Helping you navigate your next chapter starts with exactly this kind of honest conversation, no pressure attached.

Aging in place is a perfectly valid choice, and so is moving. The only wrong answer is drifting into one without really choosing it. If you'd like help seeing both sides of the ledger, with figures for your actual home and the actual options on the market right now, let's sit down and walk through it together.

Survey figures above are drawn from RE/MAX Canada's April 2026 retirement and downsizing survey and CMHC's aging-in-place research, as reported in 2026 and linked in this article. National trends are directional, not a guarantee for any one family's situation.