Only bungalow on millionaire's row sits between two mansions and a sea of supercars

A Surrey couple lives in the only bungalow on a street known for its sea of mansions and multi-million-pound upgrades, a perch they say they have no intention of abandoning. David and Jo Willsher, both 77, describe their home as the odd one out on what locals call a millionaire's row, where mock-Tudor mansions and contemporary mega-houses rise on either side and a security drone of patrols and guard dogs keeps watch day and night.

The Willsher bungalow is a single-storey dwelling nestled between two large properties. Across the road sits a five-bedroom mansion with a Romeo and Juliet balcony, an indoor pool and a garden large enough to host gatherings. Opposite, a much newer build is thought to belong to a former Premier League footballer. By contrast, the Willshers’ home cost less than a million pounds, a fraction of the price tag on their neighbors’ properties—and the cars parked at the neighboring drive illustrate the gulf. A Bentley Continental, a Ferrari Purosangue, a Porsche Cayenne and a Rolls-Royce Spectre sit on the driveway, their four-vehicle value alone estimated at about £1.1 million. Added to that, personalised number plates on the cars are worth roughly £33,000 more, before you even reach the front door.

David Willsher said there are noticeable variations in architectural style on the street, with most homes bespoke to the owners, while identikit gin palaces stand out as a contrast. He recalled when they moved in, there used to be a bungalow next to them, and new builds have replaced others in the years since. "If you go further down, the next two, which are quite futuristic, [with] strange roofs, that was also a bungalow, but a builder bought that and put two gin palaces in 11 or 12 years ago," he said.

The couple bought their single-story home for under £1 million, and they are candid about how their status compares to their neighbors. "We’re the poorest, smallest house in the road," David joked, adding that property values have surged as more mega-mansions rise around them. He said the neighborhood’s social fabric remains intact, even as the area grapples with ongoing construction. "There’s only two ways we’re leaving, either with men in the white coats or in a wooden overcoat. If we’re fit and able, we’ll be here. It’s worked out very well and the social side has not been an issue." Still, the constant knock-downs and rebuilds across the street have made life louder and sometimes more disruptive for the Willshers.

Across the street, a security guard who patrols the luxury pads described a living landscape of near-daily development. He said the road is a continual worksite, with some neighbors replacing older houses with much larger ones. "Whenever an old house comes up for sale, it gets knocked down and a nice big one gets put in its place," he noted, adding that many residents on the estate are wealthy and famous, and that burglaries and break-ins are not unusual on high-net-worth properties. The security team, which operates with dogs and rapid response, says it can reach insured estates within two minutes when alarms go off.

For the Willsher couple, the setting brings both perks and drawbacks. They described a peaceful street when work abates and a sense of quiet pride in living among neighbors who are "articulate and well-heeled" and who respect the local social order. Yet the juxtaposition is stark: their bungalow’s modest footprint sits amid expansive manicured lawns, pool decks and car collections that speak to another era of wealth, one where property value and display are part of the daily rhythm.

The daily reality of living on millionaire’s row has become a kind of cultural story in its own right. The Willshers’ experience reflects a broader national trend in which bungalows—once comparatively common in some regions—are becoming rarer on high-end streets where developers replace smaller homes with oversized, multi-story mansions. In the United Kingdom, bungalows represent a small share of new homes. Data show that in 2019/20 only about 1 percent of new homes were bungalows, with a concentration in certain rural areas rather than luxury urban corridors. East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, for example, still has a notable number of bungalows—nearly 24,000 out of 71,280 homes—but even there they are increasingly scarce on the market as land values and development pressure push builders toward larger structures.

The Surrey scene sits at an intersection of market dynamics and lifestyle narratives. While the battleground over development continues, the appeal of single-story living has not vanished. In recent years, interest in refurbishing bungalows has surged online, with searches for single-story homes rising steadily over two decades and social-media communities showcasing modern twists on the classic bungalow. The phenomenon has drawn millions of views on video platforms, reflecting a growing cultural fascination with transforming modest spaces into contemporary showcases.

For David and Jo, the daily realities are a mix of comfort and constraint. The couple, who have lived on the street for 25 years, emphasize that their decision to stay is rooted in attachment to the neighborhood and the ease of daily life—despite the ongoing redevelopment and the prospect that their bungalow will likely remain the outlier on a road of ever-taller landmarks.