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Old 02-15-2009, 03:47 PM
 
12 posts, read 35,994 times
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Hey there, long time lurker - I know this has been touched upon before, but I wanted to bring this up because my wife and I are struggling on whether we should live in a townhouse or a home.

We found a pretty nice townhouse that we like around the West U chimney (59 and Wesleyan). We will probably have to spend around $360k to get this townhouse, and we plan on staying at the place for about 8 - 10 years; however, the one biggest factor that is holding us back from making an offer is the appreciation factor. Does anyone know how well a townhouse in the area will appreciate?

If we don't get a townhouse, we will buy a starter house in Bellaire or West U, but we will probably have to pay a bit more.
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Old 02-15-2009, 07:51 PM
 
1,416 posts, read 4,427,656 times
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The townhouse versus house debate is one as old as time for inner loopers, LOL. IMO, appreciation in hot areas inside the loop comes from the lot, not the house. Townhomes have small lots, and tend to "look the same" (hypothetically speaking), and can be as hard to tell apart as the typical suburban tract home. So they will take a hit in appreciation relative to a single family home unless there is something standout about them.

With that said, both should appreciate in the time span of 8-10 years. The single family should appreciate more (the LOT, not the house since you stated will be a starter), however you are going to be living in the space for nearly a decade, and appreciation should be secondary to your enjoyment of the space. It isn't like you will see 100% apprecaition or anything. Perhaps the single family has 40% and the townhome has 20%. Is the extra 20% worth being unhappy with your space for nearly a decade?

My two cents...
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