• Canada’s guide to retirement living and care
• Active adult lifestyle

Retirement bungalows

One storey living is the ideal

Bungalows for seniors offer a simple solution to many of the headaches — and backaches — that come with age. Here, you'll have no more stairs to climb and no need to consider stairlifts or other expensive upgrades. Bungalow communities are in fact designed for people 55 and older. For example, many are landscaped with more accessible grounds that also take the needs of older people into account. 

Nine advantages to living in a bungalow

A one-storey home offers many advantages over the traditional family home that many people 50 and older can appreciate. Since your life is essentially smaller, it makes sense to have a smaller home and have everything on one floor makes the most sense. Even if you have no growing health concerns, going up and down stairs causes wear and tear on the body. A smaller home with laundry, kitchen and bedroom all on one floor is the right choice.

A one-storey community. A retirement bungalow community often entails that the entire community is designed specifically for those 55 and older. Many of these are planned as essentially a small village, where you find everything you need in a small area. Other design features may part of the planning. For example, hill grades may be kept lower than five percent, with the needs of 50 and older arthritis sufferers in mind, along with people with heart health concerns, and others. We have heard from people in these communities who remind us that they get around every day on a bike or a golf cart.

Slower-paced living. You’ll also find that these communities facilitate a laidback lifestyle that is relaxing and rewarding, in itself. This only adds to the physical and social benefits of investing in one of these, and of making this lifestyle change.

Wise use of your money. Many bungalows are owned (as opposed to seniors’ apartments and some retirement condos), so these offer the aspect of creating new equity as real estate prices typically rise.  It’s savvy to keep your money working for you, and that’s what you’ll find by purchasing a home in one of the communities listed above.

Easier to have older friends and family over. People in your circle of friends or family who are aging and require some form of mobility support will feel welcome in your accessible bungalow-style home.

Easier to have younger family members over. When the littlest grand kids come over to visit, you know you won’t have to worry about the little toddlers falling and getting hurt.

Reduction of the risk of falling. It’s a fact of life that the majority of moves into assisted living or other senior living communities are precipitated by a fall. Single storey homes greatly reduce this danger, and of course, they completely forego the danger inherent in stairs and even porches or front steps. Keep everything on the same level, right?  

Manage the cost of home improvements or upgrades. Bungalows are simply easier to manage. Not only will you not need to add stairlifts, you’ll also have a smaller roof size to replace, and will be simpler homes, period. You’ll have a minimal need to update spaces, appliances and furniture because you have less. And at this stage of your life, less is always more, right?

The right mix of privacy and community. The bungalow guarantees that you’ll have the privacy of your own home

High resale value. Even in typical neighbourhoods, bungalows have a higher resale value than some other homes. Expect this to be just as much the case in a 55 plus bungalow community.

Some ownership options

A number of bungalow communities listed above come with the land lease option, essentially meaning that the land — and all its attendant upkeep and maintenance requirements — will be handled by someone else.

Bungalows are generally a highly valued housing option. In a typical market, bungalows are priced higher than detached two storey homes. Communities above offering life lease options and house prices below the market average offer an ideal solution for many retirees and empty nesters.