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House and home

Are bungalows out of fashion?

(75 Posts)
sassylou Wed 17-Jul-24 13:14:41

My mum and dad loved their new build bungalow and lots are still being built. But nobody seems interested in buying. Since dad died mum wants to move closer to me but there seems no interest from buyers at the moment.

Maybe its just the economy but are people just not retiring to the country like they used to?

Im trying to think of ways to generate interest in her property so that she can move. What would you be looking for, or not looking for ?

Photo just for interest

nanna8 Wed 17-Jul-24 13:22:56

So different here. A house like that would be on the market for a couple of weeks and then sold. We are very short of property. I thought there was a housing shortage in the UK .

Astitchintime Wed 17-Jul-24 13:25:39

I hope they're not, ours is going on the market very soon.

crazyH Wed 17-Jul-24 13:26:32

I would love a bungalow. But the hassle of selling, clearing out the house etc at my age, puts me off. On the other hand I remember, my dear old friend, who lived in a rickety old house, with steep stairs, once said , climbing the stairs is the only exercise she got.
sassylou I hope you don’t mind me saying this, your market is limited. Young families want to live where the ‘action’ is ie schools, pubs, shops etc. The daily commute from the country, would be impractical. On the other hand, some rich people, would love to have a bolt hole in the country - somewhere to get away to, for the weekend.
Good luck !

Joseann Wed 17-Jul-24 13:31:42

I have no idea where the bungalow in the photo is in the country. But just to say in our coastal town it would fly off the shelf at £700k plus. I would get the agent to change the main picture, if this is it, because the garage detracts from the house itself.

pascal30 Wed 17-Jul-24 13:31:44

since we haven't a clue where this bungalow is, it's quite difficult to suggest ways of you moving forward with marketing it.. I know that if it were in the s/e near the sea you would sell quickly.. young people buy them and modernise..

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 17-Jul-24 13:34:13

I would like to live on one level but tbh I find most bungalows quite boring, small square rooms, tiny kitchen with no utility room, dated decor and bathrooms, artexed ceilings. There are a lot of bungalows in my area (north Norfolk) and people seem to be buying them. Perhaps ask the estate agent’s advice?

OldFrill Wed 17-Jul-24 13:36:26

It's 4/5 bedrooms so a family house, not a downsize. It's also quite dated so a family may find it hard to imagine living in it, and would probably want to put in new kitchen/bathrooms. The photos aren't great, too much artex ceiling on show. Garden looks fab but again working families may not be keen on a huge garden.
There are some nice houses not far away for the same price that wouldn't need so much work so it's got competition.
I noticed it's reduced in price once? Unless sales are slow there (it's an area I'm familiar with but not the current market) it's probably overpriced.
Are you getting viewers? If not you need to try to make it more appealing and far better photos.

M0nica Wed 17-Jul-24 13:39:20

Nothing to do with bungalows. Everything to do with the housing market at the moment.

Buyers are delaying coming forward because they are waiting a cut in the mortgage rate that was to be in May and is now suggested for September, the election, and, now, the usmmer holidays.

In the past when we have moved house, the house, we have to sell has sold in days. We have now been for sale for 6 months and even with a deep price cut, there is no one out there.

It is the same in the place, 100 miles away, we want to move to, few houses coming on the market, fewer selling. The only activity is price cutting, but even price cuts can't sell property at the moment. There are no buyers.

crazyH I disagree, bungalows are very popular and usually sell well. With more and more people Working From Home (WFH, more young families are buying them because of the flexibility of room use and their plot size. Lots of people still down size into bungalows.

As I said the difficultty sellingi s not particular to bungalows, nor location. For houses or bungalows to sell, you need buyers and they are, currently, as rare as hens teeth.

keepingquiet Wed 17-Jul-24 14:01:26

I was always under the impression bungalows sell quicker than houses because they are relatively rare.

There are about half a dozen in my village compared to a few hundred houses.

One recently took years to sell I think because it looked almost derelict. Now it has been given a new lease of life. Another down the road is also slow to sell. If you look on Rightmove it is a really lovely looking property but from the outside it looks like a dump. I think it is also overpriced.

A friend of mine spent years looking for the right bungalow but in the end bought a house.

It's an open market and I guess you have to take those chances.

Joseann Wed 17-Jul-24 14:06:21

As I said the difficultty sellingi s not particular to bungalows, nor location. For houses or bungalows to sell, you need buyers and they are, currently, as rare as hens teeth.
I disagree, M0nica. I've just checked for bungalows in my area, over £700k, and there are 20 properties currently showing, 14 of which are STC in the last month or two. A couple under offer.

Joseann Wed 17-Jul-24 14:08:59

On Rightmove that is.

Cossy Wed 17-Jul-24 14:10:40

We plan to downsize to a bungalow.

Some of the newer ones seem quite spacious and have utility rooms and en suites.

LOUISA1523 Wed 17-Jul-24 14:12:42

Bungalows hold their value where I am in NW and where my Mum is in N Yorkshire....a 2 bed bungalow sells for more than a 3 bed semi most of the time ....they are very desirable ....my mum bought her bungalow in 2018 ....it has gone up in value far more than the 3 bed home she sold ( %age wise)

merlotgran Wed 17-Jul-24 14:17:42

When I bought my bungalow in a coastal town in 2021 they were being snapped up the minute they hit the market and I was lucky to get one with a good sized, established garden. I had to pay the full market price.

Monica is right. The market has stalled and there are four bungalows in my road which have been on RightMove for months, despite price reductions.

It’s a buyer’s market I’m afraid.

MissInterpreted Wed 17-Jul-24 14:21:58

They tend to sell pretty quickly around here.

MatildaMay Wed 17-Jul-24 14:26:49

LOUISA1523

Bungalows hold their value where I am in NW and where my Mum is in N Yorkshire....a 2 bed bungalow sells for more than a 3 bed semi most of the time ....they are very desirable ....my mum bought her bungalow in 2018 ....it has gone up in value far more than the 3 bed home she sold ( %age wise)

Bungalows are much more expensive than houses due to the extra land they take up. I don't think it is the bungalow itself that is expensive but the land they build them on.

When we bought our new build 4 bedroom detached house in 1967 when we married, we paid a few hundred pounds more because of the extra land that came with the house.

My late husbands parents had died before we married so we we had a house to sell and put it towards our new house.

I would never leave my home, it is in a lovely quiet area and I am surrounded by flowering evergreen hedges that were planted many years ago. A bungalow sounds more serviceable for a person like myself living alone but I need all the bedrooms when our family stay over, and I have had a walk in shower installed but if I ever have problems with stairs, I would buy stairlift.

We dont have a regular bus service so I just get taxis wherever I want to go.

I love my home, it is my sanctuary and where we started our married lives together all those years ago.

Norah Wed 17-Jul-24 14:32:44

Not at all out of fashion here. Selling quickly.

fancythat Wed 17-Jul-24 14:49:44

I know of two areas[completely different areas, counties, and nothing to do with bungalows].

In one area, largely town suburbia, houses selling quite fast.

In another area, small village, rural, there are 16 properties not selling!

OldFrill Wed 17-Jul-24 15:04:28

It's Northamptonshire, 4/5 bedrooms.

NotAGran55 Wed 17-Jul-24 15:17:56

All properties in our West Berkshire village sell very quickly, including bungalows.
Great location for all transport links, north, south, east and west, it is AONB and an ‘outstanding’ rural location secondary school all help.

Freya5 Wed 17-Jul-24 15:20:39

I would enjoy a bungalow, many being built around my area. Guess what in an area of the NE, one of the deprived areas of the country, they're asking upwards of 220,000, some only one bedroom. Some leasehold too, not with a barge pole would I buy one of those.
If I sold my house, I wouldn't be near anywhere able to buy one outright. Guess what, they are not selling, still they keep building. Perhaps Starmer will get to his build total sooner than he thinks, but unless prices come down, no one will be able to buy.

Joseann Wed 17-Jul-24 15:23:25

OldFrill

It's Northamptonshire, 4/5 bedrooms.

I think it's Lincs.

Gin Wed 17-Jul-24 15:28:24

Because the square footage is big, they are expensive for what you get in terms of room numbers. In this part of the world builders buy them and add a second storey.

Nannarose Wed 17-Jul-24 15:30:57

Indeed, difficult with location, and OP hasn't given it, although some detective grans think it's in Northants or Lincs. It may not suit OP or mum, but I would enquire at the planning department to see what building permission might be granted. I am aware that some councils charge for this (check, some don't, for simplae, first queries) but a glance at recent planning applications, or a look through Plotfinder might give an idea as to what might be granted. A large building with a large garden might, depending on exact situation be worth something if sold with planning permission.