Buy a house or a townhouse? We sure know how confusing it may get for you especially in an age of innumerable options for everything including the purchase of your dream home. We have gathered some key differences between Townhouses and houses for you to make an informed decision when it comes to investing in something significant such as a place you can call home.
Notable differences between Townhouses and Houses
Types of Townhouses
In Canada, the terms townhouse and townhome refer to multi story homes that share both walls on either side with a neighbour home. Townhouses are of two types:
Condominium TownHouse
A condominium townhouse has independent owners but multiple units share external amenities maintained by the house owner association (HOA). These shared amenities may include a community swimming pool, frontyard, backyard, garages etc. All shared facilities are maintained by the elected HOA and the expenses covered in the form of monthly or yearly maintenance charges paid by the condo unit owners.
In Canada, the HOA fee or condo fee is between 0.30$-0.75$. Condos are stacked units with individual owners and private spaces based on the unit purchased such as the upper portion with a roof and the lower portion with a patio.
Freehold Townhouse
With a freehold townhouse, the owner owns the townhouse and the freehold space that the townhouse occupies. There is no maintenance fee as the owner has all rights over the amenities and space that comes with the freehold townhouse. However, the owner has to partake in the maintenance responsibility that will arise inevitably.
Types of House
Although houses come in different shapes and sizes, the most common house types are detached and semi-detached homes.
Detached House
As the name suggests, detached homes are independent single story or multi story houses with a boundary wall not shared with neighbours on either side. In case of amenities, detached homes have separate entrances, garages, patio, frontyard, backyard and any other added facility that comes associated with the purchase of the house.
Semi Detached House
Semi detached houses have a shared boundary wall giving way to neighbour trouble and limited privacy as you not only share the wall, but driveway, fences and you may also feel like an intruder indeliberately eavesdropping on them. One advantage though is the lower cost compared to detached homes albeit at the cost of your privacy.
Price
Townhouses are cheaper compared to detached and semi-detached homes due to sharable amenities, smaller square feet space and stackable units owned by individual owners. So, simply stating that the cost for a townhouse is split between different owners and therefore have higher affordability compared to detached or semi-detached houses.
Whereas, the average house price in Canada was $715,400 in February 2023 with an 8.3% month over month price increase recorded for Ontario. However, the average house price sits at 500,000$ if we exclude Toronto and Vancouver. Below, we listed the year over year price trends for both Townhouses and Houses and their types in the Greater Toronto Area as of February 2023.
Year over year house prices in GTA
|
Detached $1,439,735 Avg. Sold Price 20% decrease VS 02/2022 |
Semi-Detached $1,069,266 Avg. Sold Price 21% decrease VS 02/2022 |
Freehold Townhouse $1,050,342 Avg. Sold Price 16% decrease VS 02/2022 |
Condo Apartment $705,472 Avg. Sold Price 12% decrease VS 02/2022 |
The prices mentioned above are merely a broad estimate therefore we recommend that you consult a real estate expert to crunch numbers and tell you an accurate cost estimate for a house in a community you are interested in.
Although townhouses are more affordable for the average buyer, a monthly or yearly maintenance fee has to be paid without fail which might add to the overall cost.
Amenities, facilities and space ownership
Townhouses, as previously explained, have shared walls on either side and multiple owners. The owners have total rights over their owned unit and their own patio, roof or front yard but have a common driveway, shared pools, fitness centres etc.
Houses on the other hand have separated boundary walls, occupy a larger space and have their own set of facilities and have individual owners.
House or Townhouse, which is better?
Each one of us has varying preferences, affordability, lifestyles and choices. Choosing a townhouse or house depends on your individual situation and to be honest on your luck as well. You can minimise the risk by keeping the factors mentioned above in mind, analysing different house types and finding the one that suits your life the best.
