An inner-city apartment and a lack of mowing suits 72-year-old John Turner down to the ground, especially after two knee operations.

He and his wife, Kathryn, moved eight years ago when they retired, downsizing from the family home on an 850 square metre block they had lived in for four decades and raised their children in.

Other older Australians have told the ABC that the costs of downsizing, including stamp duty, are a barrier to making the move.

But the Turners love their two-bedroom apartment for its proximity to everything from public transport to markets to the cinema, as well as a hospital.

There is less maintenance and when they travel, they have more peace of mind about security.

Just across Brisbane, downsizer Bryan Worn agrees wholeheartedly with the Turners' experience.

The 78-year-old moved from his large home to a two-bedroom apartment last year, motivated by concerns about his ability to manage the maintenance his old Queenslander required.

"I'd been living on my own in a large house for five years … and my kids were getting a little bit antsy about me being on my own in a house," he said.

Mr Worn does not miss the work the home required, including after storms when he was often left with a mess to clean up.

Having previously lived in an apartment and worked in finance, Mr Worn said he was aware of the extra costs he would have to factor in for things like strata.

But he believes more information about future apartment-living costs, such as whether future building work would need to be funded, could encourage others to make a similar move.

Costs and changes worth it

Like in Mr Worn's case, the additional costs of living in an apartment, and move-related costs like stamp duty, were not ultimately a barrier for the Turners.

What shocked them was how much their strata fees increased over the years, and how much development, including much taller buildings, sprung up around them.

And while they love the lifestyle their home offers, they confess to making the long drive south of Brisbane for their old doctor and Ms Turner's hairdresser.

Housing advocates believe emotional connections to a home and place can be a major barrier to older Australians moving.

Curtin University's Steven Rowley said most older Australians ultimately chose to stay in place and in their homes for as long as possible.

"There are those emotional ties to a dwelling, and also just a lack of housing choice," he said.

"You just don't have the options available to really allow a quality downsizing move for a lot of people who want to downsize in their local community."

Professor Rowley, director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute's Curtin Research Centre, said the country lacked a supply of larger apartments, such as three-bedrooms, which downsizers often find more attractive.

Edgar Liu, at UNSW's City Futures Research Centre, agreed the research he had conducted showed many older Australians wanted something bigger than a one or two-bedroom apartment.

"Once you retire, you tend to spend more time at home, " he said.

"There are also considerations in terms of family staying or coming back to live."

He suggested greater government intervention or oversight in terms of mandating a particular mix of different sized units or apartments could help facilitate that kind of development.

Professor Rowley was concerned the housing industry couldn't deliver affordable, larger apartments given construction costs.

"There really doesn't seem to be a tremendous solution to that at the moment," he said.

"You need a real rebalancing of prices and costs."