Townhouses become a family-friendly alternative to a detached home

Growing demand and constrained land supply has resulted in strong detached house price growth. For many, it has made the dream of owning a detached home unattainable. For those looking to hop onto the property ladder, it is a necessity to look around for more affordable options. Townhouses are becoming a family-friendly alternative, offering the benefits of a house and land package but cheaper.

Instead of pushing those on an entry level budget to the very fringes of the territory, townhouses give the opportunity of development in urban in-fill sites, offering a more affordable option to a detached home. With many townhouse developments having the highest level of inclusions, it is also a great option for those looking to downsize. From entry level to million-dollar properties it is easy to understand why the popularity of townhouses is growing.

There were 978 townhouses sold across the ACT and Queanbeyan over the past 12 months to the end of January, an increase of just over 17 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. Buyers have snapped up an additional 143 townhouses. Three-bedroom townhouses were by far the popular choice, at just over 62 per cent. Almost 29 per cent opted for two-bedroom townhouses.

Belconnen and Gungahlin were the most desirable locations to buy. Based on the latest Allhomes data, 213 and 194 townhouses sold in those areas, respectively. However,  townhouses in Canberra’s inner north were the most sought after, only spending an average of 54 days on the market, almost four weeks less than the market average of 80 days. Competitive buyers in a market of few sellers may have fuelled this.

Inner north buyers had the second highest median sale price of all the districts at $578,500. The premium price tag was the inner south, at $730,000. For those on a smaller budget Queanbeyan and Tuggeranong offered the lowest median sale price, at $355,000 and $385,000 respectively.

Developers are responding to demand. The number of townhouses approved for construction in Canberra soared to the fourth highest on record, according to the latest ABS figures. There were 976 townhouses approved throughout 2015. This was almost double the level of 2014 approvals at a mere 406. Building starts last peaked back in 1994 with 1351 townhouses approved. This increase in approvals will help to further diversify stock and help to aid affordability constraints within the territory.