The process of building a new home is very exciting, but it also involves a lot of decision-making and one of the major choices is whether you want to live in a house or in an apartment. Although apartment-living is growing in popularity and there are pros and cons to both, many Australians still regard a stand-alone house as their best option. To see why, let’s have a look at the advantages of owning a house over owning an apartment.
Fewer rules
Apartments usually form part of a larger block of units which is governed by an owners’ corporation or body corporate. The owners’ corporation is responsible for creating a set of by-laws which the tenants and owners of the apartments in the block have to abide by. These rules determine whether you are allowed to keep pets, how and when common areas may be used, tenants’ behaviour, noise levels and even small things such as where you can hang your washing. In most cases you will also have to get the owners’ corporation’s approval before you can make any alterations such as apartment renovations, changes to the exterior and installing air-conditioning or new flooring. You have much more freedom to make changes to a free-standing house, as long as you remain within council regulations.
Privacy and space
Most apartment developers aim to maximise the use of a block of land, meaning that many apartments are built on very limited space and right next or very close to their neighbours. This affects both the privacy and the amount of personal space that you will have when you live in an apartment. Depending on the design of the apartment you may have neighbours living above, below and right next to you and you will be aware of their movements and the noises they may make. This is much less of a problem in a house, which usually has much more space to allow better distance and privacy between neighbours. A house is generally also more spacious than an apartment.
Room to grow
A family can easily outgrow an apartment, and unfortunately there usually isn’t any room for expansion should you require more space in the future. A house, however, holds a lot of potential to change and grow with your family. Depending on the size of the block and council regulations, you will be able to make more room with options such as adding another storey, building an extra room, opening up the kitchen and dining area into an open floor plan or even adding an additional dwelling on the block in the form of a granny flat or house-behind-house unit.
Investment value
The value of an apartment is mostly determined by the size of the land as well as the surrounding units and it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd should you decide to sell or rent it out. Whether other units are being sold or rented out will have an effect on the sale and rental price of your apartment as well. Even though the location of a house does have an influence on its value, if you choose to live in a popular or growing neighbourhood chances are very high that this property investment will grow significantly over the years. You also have much more control over the selling price and can create a more attractive home through regular maintenance and smart renovations.
If you’re thinking of building your own home, speak to one of the experts at Ross North Group. We are specialist first home builders in Perth and our team of experienced staff are dedicated to building homes with great quality and value. Through excellent craftsmanship and superb customer service, we assist our clients through the entire process of building their first home, from looking at new house designs that excite them to handing over the keys to their new home. We also have a range of display homes around Perth for clients to visit and some of our Perth display homes are for sale. Get in touch with Ross North Group today by calling 08 9431 8150.
