HOUSING design will increasingly need to focus on the needs of people over 55, says a research body.

The traditional housing ladder may have had its day, says the NHBC Foundation. Lifestyle choices and changes to the population and society are setting a "much more complex pattern of ownership and housing need", a study has concluded.

The NHBC Foundation was established in 2006 to deliver high-quality research and practical guidance to help the housebuilding industry meet the challenges of supplying new homes for the 21st century.

Next year - 2019 - is set to be the first year when people aged 55 to 74 will outnumber those aged 18 to 34.

The number of 55 to 74-year-olds is predicted to rise by two million in the next couple of decades, and the foundation says it will be important for homes to meet their needs and help them "remain active and independent".

The fastest growth is expected among the over-75s, with numbers anticipated to soar by 3.5 million over the next 20 years, to almost nine million.

More innovation will be needed when designing homes their homes, says the foundation, to provide "adaptable, comfortable living spaces and communal facilities".

Meanwhile, the number of 18 to 34-year-olds buying their first home, and the 35 to 54-year-olds in family homes, is predicted to stay "fairly static into the future".

The foundation says homes suitable for first-time buyers and families will still be needed, but they must be low-maintenance and energy-efficient, with location being lower down the list of priorities.

“The shifts in the UK’s population impact on the homes we live in now, and the homes we need to build for the future," said Steve Wood, chief executive of NHBC.

"Our population is ageing at its fastest ever rate so housing design will increasingly have to focus on the needs of the over-55s.”

The facts and figures about UK households come from the forthcoming NHBC publication "40 Facts: Homes, Housing and House Building Today".