Britain’s ageing population has helped push up the price of bungalows at an even faster rate than the rest of Britain’s buoyant property market.
The average asking price for bungalows jumped 11pc to a record £335,419 in 2021, easily outstripping the 6pc rise in the wider market, according to Rightmove data seen by The Telegraph.
Bungalow prices have jumped by almost a quarter in the last five years amid concerns that Britain’s housing stock is not ready for an ageing population. Rightmove said average home prices rose by 16pc over the same period.
There are fears that older as well as young generations could soon be dragged into Britain’s housing crisis as they struggle to find suitable properties. Housebuilders have warned demand for bungalows is being pushed up by an ageing population.
Retirement home developer McCarthy Stone warned earlier this month that there is a “structural shortage of suitable housing options for older people and more retirement communities are needed for the UK’s rapidly ageing population”.
Lifestory, another housebuilder, said a lack of suitable housing “will put greater pressure on already overstretched resources, including adult social care and the NHS”.
The older population is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade as baby boomers retire. The number of people over 80 is set to rise from 3.2m to 5m by 2032.
A report by the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee warned that “little progress” has been made in meeting growing demands from an ageing population.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, chair of the committee, said earlier this month: “You’ve got a strong demographic element which I’m not sure has been linked up before to the housing supply issue. We also know that elderly people have some different needs.”
The Centre for Ageing Better estimates that just 5pc of over-65s live in specialist homes with Britain falling behind the likes of the US and New Zealand in meeting the housing needs of old people.
There are also concerns that a lack of suitable housing means older people are trapped in large properties, meaning younger families struggle to find suitable homes.
