Not Every Bungalow is Selling Over Asking

A bungalow isn't going to become a bidding war just because it has one floor. Plenty of bungalows sit on the market for ages. Many of them need price reductions and tons of them attract little to no urgency.

When I was looking through the bungalow market in Kitchener-Waterloo, I noticed a very prominent trend with bungalows in different price ranges.

71% of bungalows priced between $700,000 and $900,000 sold over asking price. If you look at townhomes, two storey homes, condos, and everything else, you'll see a number close to 50%. So why is that bungalow number so high?

Features. Lifestyle. And Scarcity.

What about Bungalows Under $700,000?

A bungalow under $700,000 likely needs something done. It might have an older kitchen, or dated flooring. Maybe it doesn't have that en suite that many bungalow buyers want. Or it has older appliances, older furnace, older windows, or a layout that's closed off.

That does not make it a bad home but it does mean that buyers are going to look at it differently.

You start comparing the bungalow against the cost of making it what you want it to be and that is what differentiates that $700,000 to $900,000 range. That's where bungalows start becoming the full package.

So What Makes Them Sell Over Asking Price?

Not every single bungalow in this "golden" price range automatically goes straight into a bidding war. Those that sold over asking averaged 14 days on market with a median of 8 days. Tons of them sold on their offer presentation date and plenty sold a week later.

And then there's the other 29% that didn't sell over asking. They sold in an average of 43 days on market. Overpriced, and probably could have sold for more if it was marketed differently.

The thing that makes this price range so called "golden" is the fact that a lot of these bungalows are in desirable family neighbourhoods, they're move in ready without a ton of work to do, they're easy to maintain and that's desirable because a lot of buyers looking for a bungalow are looking for an easier to maintain space while keeping their lifestyle.

Just because you're buying a bungalow doesn't mean you're sacrificing having a smaller yard or kitchen. Bungalows have some of the most beautiful kitchens I've ever seen being the heart of the home with meticulously maintained yards that are surprisingly easy to keep that way.

The higher you go in price, the more boxes these bungalows are checking off. The most common boxes I see bungalow buyers going for are: kitchen islands, dining rooms, walk in closets, en suite washrooms, main floor laundry, garage to home access, easily maintained landscaping, great neighbourhoods, updated utilities and appliances, and enough space on the main floor to really make the bungalow feel like home.

If you're selling your bungalow, you have to ask yourself: who's buying it and what boxes am I checking? The more boxes you check, the way you position yourself, and who you hire to sell your bungalow is going to deliver the dollar you deserve.

If you want to sell your bungalow, I'm going to go ahead and recommend myself to get you top dollar. Thank you for reading and book a call with me here.