New research has revealed that we could be witnessing the demise of the British bungalow, potentially forcing older people into care earlier.
According to online estate agents HouseSimple.com, bungalows now account for fewer than 7% of houses currently for sale in the UK.
The knock-on effects could be devastating, with the lack of suitable properties forcing older people into care houses earlier or resulting in longer hospital stays, putting more strain on the NHS.
Due to the lower profit margins that are achievable compared to multiple-storey houses, there is little incentive for developers to build one-storey houses.
HouseSimple.com looked at the percentage of houses that are listed as bungalows currently for sale across 75 major towns and cities.
In almost three quarters (73.3%) of those towns and cities, bungalows account for less than 10% of all houses on the market today.
In London (0.9%), Aberdeen (1.4%), Portsmouth (2.0%), Oxford (2.2%) and Cambridge (2.5%), the situation is already at crisis point, with bungalows making up less than 2.5% of property stock, that’s one in every 40 houses for sale.
Not surprisingly, London is at the bottom of the list. The capital has the fewest bungalows for sale as a percentage of all houses on the market, at less than 1%. In numbers, there are just 129 bungalows for sale in the whole of London, including Greater London.
Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, said the consequences of not building enough bungalows could be “catastrophic” if housebuilders stop building bungalows altogether in the next three to five years.
He said: “We could be facing a specific housing shortage that hasn’t been addressed, or certainly hasn’t been at the top of the Government’s priority list.
“We have an ageing population but there isn’t the housing infrastructure in place to meet the needs of this demographic. Bungalows have provided a solution but the fact that fewer are being built every year speaks volumes.
“Without any incentives or Government intervention, why should housebuilders choose needs over profit. There is every chance that housebuilders could stop building bungalows altogether in the next three to five years. The knock-on effect of that eventuality could be catastrophic if provisions aren’t put in place.”
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