There is no single best age to downsize. The better question is whether the house still fits the way someone lives now. A couple in their late 50s rattling around an empty four-bedroom colonial may be ready. Someone in their 70s in a one-level home near family may have no reason to move at all.

Fred Gomberg, who holds the SRES® (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) designation, looks at a few signals instead of a birthday. Is most of the house going unused? Are property taxes and upkeep cutting into retirement plans? Are the stairs or the yard getting harder each year? When a couple of those are true, it's worth at least running the numbers.

There's a practical reason not to wait too long, too. Downsizing takes energy. Sorting decades of belongings and getting a house ready to sell is easier at 65 than at 80, and it goes much better as a choice than as a rush after a fall or a health scare.

The market has also been kind to long-time owners around Princeton. In nearby Lawrence Township, the average sale price was about $553,000 in 2025, and supply was under three months of inventory in July 2026, per Bright MLS. Many owners who bought decades ago have a lot of equity to work with.

Gomberg works with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach in Princeton. For a homeowner who isn't sure whether now is the time, a no-pressure talk about value and options answers the question with real numbers instead of a guess.