Property experts have revealed that we could see the death of the bungalow, as only 1 in 75 new homes registered in 2025 was a bungalow, despite ongoing demand.
Jack Malnick, Managing Director of Sell House Fast, comments:
“Bungalows can be seen as an attractive housing option due to their accessibility, low maintenance requirements, and ease of navigation.
“The latest NHBC figures reveal that 1,505 new-build bungalows were constructed in 2024/25, representing a 19% increase compared with the previous year.
“However, despite this growth, bungalows accounted for just 1.3% of all new-build homes. Whilst developers might argue that this is because land is expensive and developers want to maximise their profits, do we arguably need to reverse this thinking and build more bungalows to meet demand?”
Latest data on bungalow builds:
- Since 2011, NHBC has registered 2,069,668 new homes, but only 31,390 were bungalows, accounting for just 1.5% of all new homes built over the period (around 1 in every 66 homes).
- Since 2011, we have built 11.7% more detached houses since 2015, but 38.4% fewer bungalows.
- We are building 96% fewer bungalows than semi-detached homes in the year 2024/25.
- Nearly 1,000 fewer bungalows are being built than a decade ago, with registrations falling from 2,445 in 2015 to 1,505 in 2025, a 38% decline.
“Latest search interests suggest that demand for bungalows is still there, with a rise of 5,000% in searches in the past three months alone.
“The recent HomeOwners Alliance report, “Bring Back the Bungalow ’, found that 1.2 million UK homeowners aged 55 and over put their plans to move on hold over the past two years, due to stress and the lack of suitable homes.
“The report also found that 38% of homeowners aged 55 and over would prefer to buy a bungalow. Yet, despite this demand, developers have increasingly moved away from building them. Data shows that bungalows accounted for 11% of new homes in 1990, compared with just over 1.3% in 2024/25.
This issue, coupled with an ageing population, makes the case for increasing bungalow provision even stronger. By mid-2049, the number of people in the oldest age groups is projected to rise substantially, with those aged 85 and over expected to double to just under 4 million, representing nearly 5% of the UK population.
“For many homeowners, selling isn’t the challenge; it’s about finding somewhere suitable to move to afterwards. The shortage of bungalows means many older homeowners are delaying putting their homes on the market altogether, contributing to lower levels of housing stock and fewer opportunities for buyers.”
