When it comes to the anatomy of a home: the kitchen, bedrooms and living rooms, most of them tend to be the same. But what really differentiates the types of homes on the market? A big consideration that buyers have is the type of property it is (house, duplex, villa, unit) and less to do with the internal layout. So, here is a guide to just some of the homes you can buy.
Unit:
In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom a unit is what most people usually refer to as an apartment, meaning that it is a self-contained area of a building that houses anywhere from four to thirty individual residences.
Depending on where the building is, these apartment buildings can also share facilities like swimming pools, laundry room or its own gym. Units are great for first home buyers looking to get into the property market, especially at the moment where they are experiencing somewhat of a revival in popularity. Although they’ve always been a popular choice, in recent years they have become seriously in demand and it would be rare to go through a town or city without seeing an apartment development in progress.
A 3 bedroom unit in Cockburn Central, like this one below, will set you back around $449,000
Townhouses:
This particular style of house was once reserved only for the elite who had a country home and a smaller house in town, though now they are commonly referred to as terraced homes. They tend to be in high density areas where the majority of the population are working families and young couples.
In countries like the United States and Australia they have become somewhat of a renovators delight mainly because the average age of these properties tend to be a lot older than their standalone counterparts. While standalone homes tend to have anywhere from one foot to ten feet in distance between neighbouring homes, townhouses usually share at least one wall with their neighbours and have anywhere from two to four floors.
This huge 4 bedroom townhouse in Rockingham is listed at $525,000
Villas:
Just the word villa tends to bring to mind images of luxurious holiday escapes to places like Tuscany or Indonesia but really this style of home is just as popular in places like Baldivis and Rockingham. These homes tend to be larger than apartments with private gardens or courtyards. The main features that distinguish this style from a standard apartment is that the property is usually single-story. While you still share a common wall or two, the benefit of owning a villa is that you don’t have people living above or below you.
This brand new 2 bedroom villa in Baldivis is listed from $295,000