Tom Jones and Miriam Guttman-Jones once thought of their four-bedroom North Bondi home as a full house.
With two children occupying a room each, often accompanied by a horde of friends, the house was full of energy.
Now the children, who are well into their 20s, have moved out.
But, in line with a recent study from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Mr Jones and Cr Guttman-Jones, of Waverley Council, have not considered following suit.
''I actually love this house,'' Cr Guttman-Jones said. ''I don't think it's too big and it's all on one level, which makes a difference.''
The report, titled Downsizing Amongst Older Australians, found that only 9 per cent of people aged over 50 have opted to move to a smaller home.
Study author Bruce Judd, director of the Australian School of Architecture at the University of NSW, said the idea of older people having too much space and nothing to do with it was a myth.
''Some people actually said they needed more room after retirement because they spend more time in the house,'' he said.
Professor Judd said calculating how much of a house was used by counting people and bedrooms was a ''reductive mathematical model'', which did not account for people using spare rooms for activities other than sleeping.
He listed home offices, gyms, hobby rooms and guest rooms as common uses, a theory reflected in the home of Mr Jones and Cr Guttman-Jones. One spare room remains filled with their daughter's possessions, another is set up as a study and Cr Guttman-Jones has plans for the third.
''I'm going to get it painted, I'm going to buy a double bed and turn it into a nice guest room,'' she said.
The study also showed that, of those who downsize, lifestyle and maintenance are the two most common motivators. The two go hand-in-hand, Professor Judd said.
''If you get rid of maintenance, it improves the lifestyle,'' he said.
Kate Byrne, who downsized to a two-bedroom apartment in Narrabeen after her husband died, agreed.
''Here I was in this big house that needed a lot of maintenance, a swimming pool, a long driveway, lawns to mow,'' she said. ''I've got time to myself now. On the weekends, I used to be a slave to the house.''
Relatively few downsizers listed finances as their reason for moving.
''Often the downsizing is not about saving money; it's about improving quality of life,'' he said.
Policy forums have suggested that the glacial pace of downsizing could be quickened by the removal of barriers, Professor Judd said.
He listed age-friendly planning in town centres, mandating accessible housing design, fee and stamp duty exemptions and improved information guides as policies that could make downsizing easier.
----
----
