The demise of the British bungalow is closer than some might think, with the type of property accounting for fewer than 7% of houses currently for sale in the UK according to research by HouseSimple.com.

There is currently little incentive for developers to build one storey houses due to the lower profit margins that are achievable compared to multiple story houses rather than lack of demand. In almost three quarters (73.3%) of 75 major towns and cities across the UK, bungalows account for less than 10% of all houses on the market today.

London has the fewest bungalows for sale as a percentage of all houses on the market at less than 1%, whilst Worthing and Bournemouth have the highest proportion of bungalows with 24% and 21.9% respectively.

Alex Gosling, chief executive at HouseSimple.com, said: “We could be facing a specific housing shortage that hasn’t been addressed, or certainly hasn’t been at the top of the government’s priority list. We have an ageing population but there isn’t the housing infrastructure in place to meet the needs of this demographic.

“There is every chance that housebuilders could stop building bungalows altogether in the next three to five years and the knock-on effect of that eventuality could be catastrophic if provisions aren’t put in place.”