Jonathan Rolande: Are bungalows the answer to the hou...

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19 May 2023

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By Marc Shoffman

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Jonathan Rolande: Are bungalows the answer to the housing crisis?

It has been another busy week in the property sector.

In his latest column, property commentator Jonathan Rolande, provides his take on the biggest stories from the past seven days.

Politicians seem to have finally woken up to the fact that coming up with solutions to the housing crisis could be a vote-winner.

This week the Labour Party and the Conservatives both unveiled plans for major housing reforms.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour would give English councils more powers to build on green belt land to boost housing.

The Labour leader also insisted he was prepared to take "tough decisions" and "back the builders, not the blockers".

However, he said construction would only take place where it does not "affect the beauty of our countryside". At one point he was even pictured wearing a high-viz jacket.

Although I welcome moves to try and turbocharge house building there is a part of me that also feels a little sceptical about this announcement.

It is unclear, for instance, how Starmer plans to navigate the challenge of convincing dozens of local authorities across the country to change those planning rules.

And, even if he manages to do that, he then has to convince housebuilders that now is a good time to lay more bricks.

Remember, confidence among many of the big providers is low and, as we have seen in recent weeks, building levels are down.

I suspect many might be waiting to see if the change of Government we all expect arrives. If it does, then Starmer will quickly need to make good on his promises - or he will risk instantly losing the confidence of the companies who hold the key to delivering the much needed new supply of houses.

Renters reform

Michael Gove, meanwhile, finally set out what the Renters Reform Bill will look like.

This will have implications across the entire property sector. This legislation, or even just the fear of it, will galvanise many landlords who were on the fence, to sell up.

There will be a flurry of evictions pre-sale, which will exacerbate the rental shortage but which will create extra housing supply. I think many of the properties will sell to owner-occupiers.
The other big story this week is the continued woes impacting the troubled online estate agent Purplebricks.

It has agreed a deal to sell its business and assets to rival Strike, for the token sum of £1. The announcement sent its shares tumbling by around 40%.

It would appear, and many experts seem to believe, that the sale price of £1 is down to the company burning through cash. It has been spending £3m per month on costs including staff, hosting and marketing.

What I find most concerning are reports that there was no other proposal or offer on the table.

Strike has indicated the companies will be run separately.

But history tells us that when takeovers take place this rarely stays the case for long. I suspect we will see Strike and Purplebricks aligning over the coming months - but hopefully this will bring benefits and help to secure the future of the hundreds of Purplebrick jobs which are at stake.

No longer the butt of property sales jokes

The final story that really caught my eye this week were figures showing that bungalow sales are, well, going through the roof.

Estate agents say young professionals in their 20s and 30s are vying with pensioners looking to downsize and live on one level, which is leading to fierce competition and rising prices.

Figures from the Rightmove suggest the average asking price for a bungalow has reached £356,957, just shy of £5,500 less than the average UK property asking price.

Overall, the number of people searching specifically for a bungalow to buy is up 11% compared with February 2019, according to the website.

They used to be the butt of jokes but now they are often at the centre of bidding wars because of the benefits that come with owning one.

There are many reasons why they are popular including the fact that they are usually on larger plots and they are not usually listed buildings meaning making changes and alterations is easier.

They are also easier to maintain and extend. Because they are often built for retirement, locations are quieter.

They suit the current trend of open plan living. Many are in prime positions in their town and have space on the side as very few are mid-terrace.

Maybe Starmer should switch his attention to building more bungalows - it’s clear people can’t get enough of them.

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- Jon Moreton
- 19 May 2023 09:19 AM
We've lived in a bungalow for over 20 years and love it. But the major issue is plot size in today's market - our 0.5 acre plot would no doubt be expected to accommodate several new build properties. In my opinion, bungalows are desirable and very practical (I can clean my gutters easily and do basic roof maintenance myself ), but are not the solution to the country's housing shortage!

- Richard Copus
- 19 May 2023 10:05 AM
Building more houses with a double bedroom downstairs with en suite would solve a lot of problems and appeal to elderly people. These used to be called chalet bungalows in the sixties and seventies when they had long, sloping roofs. I'm just about to go and look at one!

- Jon Moreton
- 19 May 2023 12:30 PM
Further to my comments on downsizing (article: Housing policy. .... 5/5/23), although my wife and I would be very reluctant to downsize, if we had to do so, we would move down to a smaller bungalow. My first property was a flat and until recently we owned a holiday flat, but there is just too much hassle involved with leasehold issues, service charges, etc. Bungalows are ideal to live in and maintain, but they are land intensive - perhaps chalet-style ones as suggested above would be a modest partial solution to the UK's housing needs, if they can be built in a less land-hungry manner.

- Micky Bricks
- 19 May 2023 13:15 PM
and therein lies the problem, convince a developer to build bungalows in numbers. They make more profit by building two semi's on the same footprint as one detached bungalow.