Want a bungalow to downsize? Join the queue. Here's why they've vanished

Bungalows made up just 1% of new homes registered in 2024, down from 11% in 1990, according to the National House Building Council. Yet 38% of homeowners aged 55 and over want one for their next move, making them the single most popular property type in that group.

So why aren't builders building them? It comes down to land. A bungalow uses roughly the same plot as a house but delivers less floor space, fewer bedrooms, and a smaller sale price. On the same site, a developer can fit more units by building up rather than out. Add in planning rules that favour higher density, plus taxes and infrastructure levies charged per plot, and bungalows often don't pay.

That wouldn't matter so much if the alternatives worked. Mostly, they don't. Retirement flats carry steep service charges and often depreciate rather than grow in value. Park homes come with their own legal and financial quirks. Renting late in life is a poor fit for most.

So the default for most is to stay put. The family home that suited a household of four now houses one or two. Stairs get harder. Running costs rise. The alternative feels worse.

There's a wider cost too. Every over-55 stuck in a four-bed is a four-bed that never reaches a young family. Jackson-Stops estimates that scrapping stamp duty for downsizers could free up 500,000 homes inside a year. The blocked top of the market blocks the bottom.

That situation is unlikely to change soon. Builders will keep building what's profitable. Bungalows will keep disappearing — developers knocked down 5,594 between 2020 and 2025, and 74% were replaced by houses rather than another bungalow, according to Hamptons analysis of EPC data.

If you're set on a bungalow, accept that you'll be competing hard. Register with local agents, move quickly, and expect to pay a premium for single-storey living. Coastal and rural spots tend to hold the highest concentration of stock, but they also draw the most competition.

The bungalow isn't dead. But it's been priced and planned into a corner, and the people paying the price are the ones who need it most. If you need extra borrowing to buy a bungalow, talk to one of our mortgage experts today.

As seen on UK Homeowner Reddit and X/Twitter

More Info

Here is the clean list formatted into Markdown links, using clear, descriptive text for each source:

• Mortgage Strategy: The Death of the Bungalow
• HomeOwners Alliance: Bring Back the Bungalow (Research detailing the 1.2m figure, 38% preference, and barriers data)
• Property Reporter: Bungalow Supply Falls to 1% of New Builds (Confirmation of the 1% supply statistics)
• Property Wire: Britain's Single-Storey Housing Crisis (Hamptons EPC data tracking 5,594 demolished bungalows, with 74% replaced by houses)
• Jackson-Stops: Stamp Duty Break for Downsizers (Analysis on freeing up 500,000 homes in a year)
• GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax Residential Rates (Official SDLT details including the £125,000 threshold from April 2025)
• Restless: The Downsizing Dilemma (Data on why 1.2m homeowners feel stuck, including the average move cost of £13,018)
• Age UK: Late Movers Report (October 2025) (PDF briefing on how the housing shortage affects an ageing population, highlighting 90% in mainstream housing)