Demand for bungalows soars, but they account for just one in 10 home sales
The pandemic slowed down the pace of downsizing but last year’s energy crisis became a key driving force to downsize and the trend shows little sign of abating.
Demand for bungalows is soaring as downsizers look to save on energy bills with 42% of all homes listed for sale already having found a buyer, research from Regency Living reveals.
The pandemic slowed down the pace of downsizing but last year’s energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine became a key driving force to downsize and the trend shows little sign of abating.
HIGHEST LEVEL
Research from Hamptons shows some 41% of home movers downsized in 2023, up from 32% the previous year and the highest level since 2016.
And although inflation may have eased in recent months many households are still struggling with the high cost of living. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) four in 10 (41%) adults struggle to pay their energy bills with the annual cost of gas and electricity sitting at just over £2,000 for the average three-bed home, climbing to over £2,800 for a five-bed property.
And ONS data shows that it’s those aged 60+ who are most likely to struggle as they have the lowest income of all those aged 30 or over.
Just one in 10 homes currently listed for sale fall into the bungalow category.”
But although demand is high just one in 10 homes currently listed for sale fall into the bungalow category.
In London, bungalows account for just 2% of current for sale stock, with the West Midlands (8%), North East (9%) and North West (9%) also home to some of the lowest availability.
But in the East Midlands and East of England some 14% of all homes currently listed for sale are bungalows. Availability across the South West (13%) and Yorkshire (12%) also comes in higher than the national average.
NO-BRAINER
A spokesperson for Regency Living, the park bungalow provider, says: “For those in their later years, in particular, the decision to downsize to a bungalow from a larger home is a no-brainer given the cost saving associated with such a move, as well as the additional benefits that come from single-storey living in later life.”
But they add: “That said, bungalow stock availability is low and market turnover is far less frequent due to the fact that many bungalow homebuyers don’t tend to move on following their initial purchase.
“It’s fair to say that a greater focus on the delivery of single-storey housing stock could help free up larger homes for those looking to climb up the ladder, addressing the wider issue of the housing crisis in the process.”
Perhaps it would have helped to ask a developer and a housing association why they don’t like building bungalows? There are many many reasons: they are greedy users of extremely scarce land capable of being awarded planning, they have large surface areas and are costly to meet the SAP rules, they do not command much of a price premium to compensate the developer for the inefficient use of land, etc.
What’s wrong with flats instead of bungalows, fitted with stairs and lifts and other accessible features, and provided with areas of private garden spaces for those who are able still to do some gardening, instead of the dreaded anonymous “grounds” and boring shrubberies allocated to flats and maintained at huge expense by management companies? Such flats are far more efficient in the use of scarce land compared with bungalows, security and the views above ground floor level can be much better, and an enlightened developer has scope to add a small hall or lounge for communal activities to counter people’s fear of being isolated in a flat.