Looking ahead to your twilight years?  Is your next move going to be to a bungalow?  If you are looking to purchase a bungalow, it would be better to buy one sooner rather than later.  With the aging baby boom population a bungalow style home is going to be more and more in demand.  The increased demand from those boomers to buy homes that they can both maintain and stay in as they age will start to increase the price of bungalow homes. 

In 2008 the average price of a detached bungalow was $267,430, while the average price of a 2 storey detached in Kitchener/Waterloo was $296,553, in 2013 the average price of a bungalow was $310,648 and the average price of the 2 storey detached was $321,117, the bungalow saw an increase of 16.16% over 5 years while the 2 storey detached homes only saw an increase of 8.28%.  Bungalow prices are increasing almost twice as fast as 2 storeys.  I don’t believe that we will see a decrease in the prices of 2 storey detached homes, as we still have move up buyers who are increasing their family size and need these larger homes.  Another statistic that is showing the popularity of bungalows is the number of days on the market, the average days a bungalow was on the market in Kitchener/waterloo in 2013 was 35 and the average days a 2 storey was on the market was 38, while this isn’t a large difference now, I believe with decreased inventory we will see fewer days on the market for a bungalow compared to a 2 storey home. 

With the increased demand from the boomers to stay on their own and not into a retirement home, they will be looking for homes that allow them to physically stay longer than a 2 storey home would.  A smaller bungalow with less yard maintenance is going to be desired and I believe that we will be seeing these prices increase at a faster rate as those boomers start to get closer and closer to downsizing.

If you currently own a bungalow and love it, stay in it.  If you own a bungalow and are looking to sell it and believe that it might be ideal for a senior, waiting a little longer for those prices to increase may be wise, as the trends are showing increasing demand for bungalows and the population of boomers who are moving closer and closer to retirement  is also increasing.  According to the 2011 census, in Canada 3 of every 10 Canadians is in the boomer generation.  Those boomers have saved for retirement and are looking for a way to enjoy their retirement in their own comfortable environment, a bungalow will allow them just that.

Bungalows are going to be in high demand and if you are looking at that option, I would highly suggest looking at that option now before the prices of bungalows inflate higher and become harder and harder to find.