Do You Prefer House or Apartment?

[Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 00:15
Last edited 11/08/2020 - 08:10

I think most Australians probably prefer to live in a house because it's the Australian dream to have a nice big house with a giant backyard and maybe a pool etc…

Personally I prefer apartments mainly because I grew up in one and am fairly used to the coziness and the lack of need to maintain a giant backyard. I've been to many houses that have abandoned backyards and honestly they look horrible…I even have a friend that just let's their dog shit everywhere in there and never clean it.

So what's your preference, and why?

Poll Options

  • 730
    House
  • 125
    Apartment
  • 17
    Something else (?)
Home & Garden

Comments

  • Archi on 11/08/2020 - 08:30
    +4

    House with pool at the moment… lived in apartment when single and also married. Will probably live in a a town house with small yard when I get older and kids move out

    It's age Vs lifestyle

  • Quantumcat on 11/08/2020 - 08:47
    +17

    Why would anyone actually choose to live in an apartment if they can afford a house?

    • Seraphin7 on 11/08/2020 - 08:55
      +8

      Apartment in a decent area vs. house at woop woop?

      • Quantumcat on 11/08/2020 - 09:01
        +14

        That's not the question OP asked

      • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 09:20
        +3

        I would argue that you're not comparing like for like.

        I read it as per Quantumcat - which would be nicer, a house or an apartment in the same area?

        (I know, I know. The price would then be apples and tomatoes.)

        • Seraphin7 on 11/08/2020 - 10:35
          +8

          That's fair enough.

          But it's entirely relevant to it. Speaking personally I live in an apartment because I want to live where I live, not out in the boonies. Yes, I'd prefer a house in my current location, but $$$$ aren't quite allowing that to happen presently.

          On the other hand, I'm aware of older people who choose to live in an apartment for ease of maintenance vs. a house where this choice has very little to do with location.

    • bobbified on 11/08/2020 - 14:08
      +5

      As a single guy, an apartment is just much simpler. Wake up, go to work and come home to just chill. There's not really much else to worry about. Personally, I don't feel like I need too much space for myself.

      Of course, I'm purely speaking from a living perspective, not as an investment or anything.

      If I was to get married and have kids, then definitely a house for the extra space.

    • Carmen Sandiego on 22/08/2020 - 17:02
      +1

      Gardening for me honestly.

      That plus most apartments are usually closer to PT and I work in the city.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2020 - 04:18

      If you travel a lot (haha 2020) an apartment can be better as 0 maintenance, more secure, onsite manager for things like packages potentially, just lock the door and disappear for 6 weeks. No cutting grass, no watering gardens etc.

      There's a lot of apartments really close to a lot of night life and amenities that are nearly impossible to get a house near at any cost.

      There's pros and cons for each.

  • tryagain on 11/08/2020 - 08:49
    +1

    House, a bit more privacy, ability to have a shed, spacious outdoor area, fenced area for kids to safely play outside, can make a bit more noise without upsetting neighbours etc.

  • Seraphin7 on 11/08/2020 - 08:54
    +4

    House. Purely to avoid strata meetings, etc.

  • jm7 on 11/08/2020 - 09:03
    +3

    I rent an apartment and appreciate the security, affordability (generally cheaper than renting a house in good areas) and the access to shared facilities (i.e. rooftop, communal herb garden, etc).
    However, I would never buy one due to body corporation complexities/expenses, risk of bad neighbours, bad quality of new builds and embedded utilities (whereby you can't choose your provider and get extorted for your electricity, gas and/or hot water).
    We have lived in an apartment for 4 years and now looking to move into a townhouse/house mostly because of the really expensive utilities.

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 13:49
      +2

      embedded utilities

      For electricity they need to offer you competitive pricing. A year ago an embedded utility had to offer best I could find on energy compare. Give it a try.

      • jm7 on 11/08/2020 - 15:07

        I have tried… no success. I have also had numerous fights with origin re: hot water as it takes 5+ mins to run hot.. we have just decided to move out. Costing us a fortune and getting nowhere. Have even threatened ombudsman

    • Taro Milk Tea on 11/08/2020 - 14:12
      +2

      Embedded utilities are sucks and such a rip off arrangement. Claim to be cheaper and more cost effective - lies.

      Now I pay $20 more expensive per month for my electricity and around $50 more expensive for the hot water.

      • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 14:50

        Really depends.

        In 1 building it is embedded power (no gas), have own hot water unit. Power prices aren't too bad due to driving embedded prices close to lowest on the market but power bills about $100 per month. [Strata fees $1,100 per quarter, no 24hr reception, no pool, no gym, 10 stories high, 30 years old converted office building]

        In another building no embedded power [$70 a month], gas part of strata fees [$1,500 per quarter], central hot water [$20 a month] but with 24 hour reception, pool and gym, 40 stories high [built 10 years ago as apartments, developer still in business]

        Ownership cost depends on going in with eyes wide open.

  • chickenchipsgravy on 11/08/2020 - 09:04
    -3

    OzB High yielding BMW f’shiz

  • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 09:18
    +8

    I like knowing I don't just own a piece of sky that I am forced to pay an astronomical shared cost of maintaining.

    Also, I have seen apartments as poorly maintained as backyards.

    And I like my entry and exit to my own property to be without a metal box of communal farts.

    I don't know too many people who live in an apartment by choice (apart from eight figure luxury apartments). Most learn to accept it, some through self delusion.

    • zwolf on 13/08/2020 - 22:07
      +1

      I don't know anyone who lives in an apartment not by choice…

      • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2020 - 22:16

        Penthouses aside, I have a few friends living in multi level apartments with what feels like 300sqm. I don't ask but I know a similar unit was sold for ~$12mil so that's enough cash to buy a landed property in the same area.

  • axloz on 11/08/2020 - 09:19
    +8

    House to own; apartment if you rent.

    Having lived in apartments for the past ~15 years I'm done with it.. As folks have mentioned above, neighbours make noise by just living in their place, and even though most of them are lovely people, it still gets annoying. We had an apartment right above us put in hardwood floors, then their daughter moved in with a toddler… Not fun for us.

    You pay rates on a house, insurance, and have to do the maintenance yourself; but in an apartment you're paying strata fees for others to do the maintenance and insure the building. If your building has a lift, a pool, or anything that moves (and can break down), your fees will go up every year, and the decisions around these issues will be mostly out of your control.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 09:21
    +15

    I lived in an apartment before I bought my house. I was surrounded by inconsiderate bogans who would pump doof doof at all hours on week days, have loud sex with their windows open, and acted aggressively when confronted. Unless it has a 24/7 concierge desk, I'll never live in an apartment again.

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 13:50
      +5

      Sounds like a block of housing commission flats.

      • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 14:26
        +8

        You'd think so, but I was paying a small fortune to live there. Port Melbourne is a dump because of all the apartments. (Well I guess it was always a dump, it's just that the 'gentrification' means on the surface it looks like it's not).

        Walking down Bay street, half the real life cast of Underbelly gravitate around, and the number of bikies and bikie club houses is scary.

        After I left there, I am not joking, there were 2 separate murders (I believe domestic, but still), on the street I lived on.This was one of the main residential streets near Bay St. There was a bikie clubhouse that got raided continually, and to top things off, one day walking home, my girlfriend rung me, because the police had blocked off an intersection. While she was on the phone, a guy ran out of the house that police had surrounded, and they shot him, in broad daylight, in front of 20 or 30 people. It never made the news, and a couple of tweets on social media that existed about it were discretely removed the next day.

        An absolute toilet full of drug dealers, assholes and try hards. Glad I got out.

        • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 14:57

          Port Melbourne is a dump

          Explains a lot. You are the St Kilda side of Port Melbourne. It humours me where people live according to stereotypes. Lucky you got out.

          I wouldn't buy an apartment in Port Melbourne. It is hard buying apartments in Melbourne. You've got some pie in the sky prices $800k - $1m which most people won't afford therefore won't hold up in a few years. Definitely sell at a loss down the track. A lot of developments around $600k+ (1BR+) being built. Therefore old units don't pay more than $400k else you're looking at a loss.

          Then there is the toddler size shoe box apartments 20sqm - 30sqm. That will leave you in a bind finance wise and hard to rent out because you paid $250k for it and can't rent it out for 6 - 7% to cover costs.

          • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 15:01

            @netjock: All of Port Melbourne is on the same side of St Kilda… which is equal in dump status, but in different ways.

            • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 15:05

              @[Deactivated]: Was thinking south side of Williamstown road. The Yarra side there is some apartments popping up.

              • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 15:17

                @netjock: It was Nott St. Hell hole. But the entire suburb really is a write off. Too many bogans 'moving up' and too many criminals.

    • anastasiastarz on 14/08/2020 - 03:13

      lol even then beware. We lived in North Melb and had a concierge desk - but over the back fence was commission flat hell. Sounded like a childcare center where they beat the kids, screaming crying all day long - except during school pick up. And I'm nocturnal working the night festival, lasted two week before we moved, did call the cops to handle the noise but naturally when they were there it was quiet.

  • CaffeineCruiser on 11/08/2020 - 09:28
    +2

    House for sure.
    Can have own personal garage and backyard/shed!
    Also; no strata!!!! Happy to pay for my own maintenance and upkeep stuff myself.

  • Headless on 11/08/2020 - 09:46
    +2

    I live in an apartment
    Bogan dealer lives next door, yappy dogs that wake you up at 2am each day, and a baby that screams to no end

    Body corp slack, maintenance issues everywhere-just want to cry…

    House is 1000% better

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 13:51
      -2

      Call social housing / housing commission flats as apartments is a bit of glorification of gore isn't it?

    • superuser on 13/08/2020 - 10:20
      +2

      smoker downstairs, musician upstairs,….

  • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2020 - 09:59

    40 square home here on level 1100m2 block with pool. Battle axe block house in off road with 6-7ft fences around, very private.
    Only 3 of us now, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, office, 3 living areas.

  • jellykingdom on 11/08/2020 - 10:41
    +5

    Can i say townhouse? I think that has the best of both worlds

    I've lived in both. Chronologically:
    - 2x houses growing up as a kid, with backyards etc
    - 1x share townhouse
    - 1x 2bd apartment (first home buyer)
    - 1x 3bd house with backyard and pool
    - 1x 3bd apartment

    Apartment is great because there's less to maintain, security is great, and generally I prefer it. But no space for my workshop, which is driving me a bit nuts.

    House is nice because it's entirely your domain, no noisy upstairs neighbours. But having to maintain the whole thing was annoying me, the garden requires far too much effort for something that I hate doing, and to be honest the (profanity) neighbours were far more (profanity)-ish in the suburbs (stupid families with a million loud kids, yappy dogs, want to talk about lawn and dogs too often, etc).

  • AssamLaksa on 11/08/2020 - 10:51
    +5

    Based on my current lifestyle, apartment/unit
    - Being so tiny, it's easy to maintain and keep clean so I have more time to spend on my hobbies
    - Doesn't feel lonely when I'm home alone

    In the future, house
    - When I have kids, definitely would appreciate the space
    - When I can afford someone to clean it weekly and maintain the garden/lawn

  • try2bhelpful on 11/08/2020 - 10:57
    +2

    House. You don’t have to listen to the neighbours all day. You don’t need to beg the body corporate to keep a pet. You don’t have body corporate fees. You don’t have to deal with communal areas. Also, as a general rule, houses appreciate in value better than apartments.

    I look at the soulless towers going up in the city and wonder what they will be like in 50 years time. Even if they become decrepit, and dangerous, how can you bring a tower down without affecting nearby ones? If people own individual apartments how can everyone be rounded up to get anything done?

    • SydStrand on 12/08/2020 - 17:26
      +1

      If people own individual apartments how can everyone be rounded up to get anything done?

      They can't. Just look at how paralysed the poor Mascot Towers owners are a year on. Some want to sell and move on with their lives, others want to fight it, etc. Then there are other parties including the developer, state government, etc. Even if they miraculously get on the same page, it'll sell for land value and all those tenants' life savings just evaporate.

  • Mechz on 11/08/2020 - 11:00

    Grew up on a farm in country Qld, now live in an apartment around Melbourne. The only thing I miss is a shed to tinker with cars and bikes.

    My ideal place would be close to the city, 6 or 9 bay garage base floor with 2 or 3 br above and a zero maintenance rooftop garden.

    • TheMindsetTraveller on 11/08/2020 - 13:49
      +1

      If you were in Sydney, then this would be the property for you.

      Sold at auction last weekend with six active bidders!

      https://www.domain.com.au/22-llandilo-avenue-strathfield-nsw…

      • Mechz on 11/08/2020 - 13:53

        It's ok but I can't understand why anyone would spend that much and not build something custom.

        • s12345 on 13/08/2020 - 15:28

          rich getting richer and more crazy … much the same house ten minutes away in a working class suburb is $4m cheaper
          https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-hurstv…

          • 91rs on 13/08/2020 - 15:33

            @s12345: Strathfield is nothing to write home about and i'd have classed it as working class also. 6+ mil is insanity.

          • Satirical on 13/08/2020 - 15:41

            @s12345: That's pretty insane to burn away cash like that…wonder if it was just an intentional wealth transfer as I'd argue that's well beyond expected market value

    • try2bhelpful on 12/08/2020 - 18:00

      We bought our current place in 2002. At the time we looked at a warehouse conversion near Diamaru, that had four storeys. The bottom was car parking for 5 cars, the next storeys was bedrooms, the next lounge dining area and then a rooftop garden with laundry at the top. It was glorious but it sold for $750,000 back then. Also, in reality, the property deserved a better fit out.

      House prices are insane, now.

  • deeevan on 11/08/2020 - 11:44

    As apartments go, I lived in a pretty good one. Solidly built double brick, low noise transmission, elderly quiet neighbours, low density, lots of common garden areas not used by anyone else.

    But I love being able to walk in and out without having to remember keys. And we consider garden maintenance to be a plus of house living. Plus solar panels.

  • FrugalFrella on 11/08/2020 - 12:04
    +1

    Villa, solid in-between choice and generally more privacy than a townhouse

  • godofpizza on 11/08/2020 - 12:08
    +3

    if you live in an apartment hope to god these people don't live above you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IRB0sxw-YU

  • Cheap Steve on 11/08/2020 - 12:35
    +5

    House, more rooms to hide from my wife and children.

    • bobbified on 11/08/2020 - 14:44
      +7

      That also means there's more rooms to hide your body when she finds you! 🤣

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 11/08/2020 - 13:54
    +7

    Loved my city pad that we had for 10+ years. Top level, large balcony with unobstructed city views - saw fireworks light up the sky every week. Pretty much walkable to everything we did - the office, play, cafe, restaurants, bars, clubs & relaxation. We also travelled alot so enjoyed the (perceived) security of being in an apartment with only one door into our apartment versus the multiple doors and windows in our terrace which we live in now.

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 15:02
      +1

      Pretty much walkable to everything we did

      People in this country look down on those that walk. It is like hierarchy: those who drive European cars, then Japanese cars, Korean cars, Chinese cars, those who take public transport, the scum (not) that ride bicycles, have to walk might as well be up to your knees in sewerage.

      Glad you enjoyed it. Some people in this country just don't get it.

      • tekisei on 12/08/2020 - 14:19
        +10

        My uncle made an observation 20 years ago in the USA that went something like this:

        Poor people drive, rich people bike, really rich people walk. It's about how much leisure time one has.

        • hunterhalo on 13/08/2020 - 04:46
          +1

          You are missing one, really really rich people chauffeur

  • donkcat on 11/08/2020 - 16:10
    +8

    Apartments are quite appealing when you're in your early 20s and renting, enjoy heading out every Friday, Saturday night. You don't have to waste money on garden equipment and maintaining a lawn and garden you don't really care for.
    But for many as you get older the priorities shift, you value the personal freedom a house provides, having a backyard for a dog or children and you actually take pride in your lawn and garden. You enjoy having people over and entertaining in your alfresco rather than heading out, not worrying about shared parking and getting side swiped etc

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 17:00
      +1

      having a backyard for a dog or children

      Mutually exclusive, tough choice, guess cost of living is killing us.

      • donkcat on 11/08/2020 - 17:03

        Yes these designer dogs cost more than children these days

        • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 23:06

          If you don't design the owners look what you get…

  • mintea on 11/08/2020 - 16:57

    Lived in an apartment for years, and moved into a house like 2 years ago. I prefer the house over the apartment.

  • lainey13 on 11/08/2020 - 19:18
    +2

    House
    I absolutely detest hearing other people living around me. Hearing people walking above me, pissing or showering above me, talking behind a wall or in the corridor… I can't handle it any more after living in numerous apartments/town houses with shared walls.

  • Clear on 11/08/2020 - 21:29

    House.

    Get a nice 3 bedroom house with decent backyard, frontyard and a garage for $350,000+. Better than living in a city apartment that's for sure!

    • netjock on 11/08/2020 - 23:07
      -1

      But to get a city house is like $3.5m. You're comparing two different things.

      • Clear on 11/08/2020 - 23:20
        +1

        Not when the CBD is 5-10 minutes away. What you should say is I'm comparing the rest of Australia to Melbourne and Sydney.

        • netjock on 12/08/2020 - 14:04

          CBD of country town. You can't compare that to Melbourne, Sydney nor Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth, Hobart. You're kind of talking about way down there… so far I can't measure.

          Probably 5 - 15 mins by car. At country highway speeds that is like 15 - 20kms. That is like the fringe metro in Melbourne which at city speeds takes 45 mins to get out to.

          • Clear on 12/08/2020 - 14:32

            @netjock: I'm talking Hobart. My 2 bedroom investment house 3km from the CBD (~10 minute drive) was under $300k.

            • netjock on 12/08/2020 - 20:59

              @Clear: Depends on date of this "was"

              • Clear on 12/08/2020 - 21:04

                @netjock: 6 months ago. COVID has been more kind here.

  • Stevecro on 12/08/2020 - 13:37
    +6

    It's a fair argument to compare house vs apartment for the same money, many people are faced with that choice every day, as a real estate agent, this issue comes up a lot. In Sydney where I am, if one has a budget of say approx 600 - 800k buying a townhouse/apartment allows you to live much closer to the city/beaches where the climate is much cooler in summer and there is much more to do. It also allows you to live much closer to work if you work in the city (which many do) and not waste hours every day commuting, although with Covid that may have changed. Obviously if one has a much larger budget, a house will be the best choice.

    If you purchase a house for 600 - 800k in Sydney, it will be at least an hour or more out from the CBD where it's insanely hot in summer and very little to do. Most areas like Kellyville, Richmond, Penrith, Camden etc are very bland, just stacked with houses, a shopping centre and very little else, very dull existence. I am not pro apartment, as they certainly have many negatives already mentioned by others, but very few people consider the climate and what there is to do in the area when buying a place these days.

    • CheapSticks on 12/08/2020 - 15:40

      I agree with you mate totally…i went looking for house some yrs back after doing all my research..it was summer and when we were out inspecting man it was bloody hot - this was out west and absolutely no one on the road - that was prime reason for us dropping out buying there !

      Again not suggesting apartment is for everyone but do consider if having amenities and living in a nicer part of city with plenty of amenities n dining option is a consideration…plus can enjoy much better weather all year round…

      in sydney between north shore near city and west - there is usually difference of 5 degree+ and thats a lot in winter and summer !

      • Stevecro on 12/08/2020 - 20:47
        +1

        Difference in temperatures is usually much more than 5 degrees between Sydney's east and west, the difference is around 10 - 12 degrees. Nights are very hot and suffocating in the west, with no breeze whatsoever most nights. In Sydney's east, you have the see breeze plus a cooler temperature overall which makes a massive difference in enjoying days and being able to sleep without running air con every night.

  • Zondor on 12/08/2020 - 13:48

    I'm in Adelaide so house. If I was in Melbourne I would want an apartment close to the city.

    • Kamsi on 12/08/2020 - 14:09

      why can't you have a house close to the city. I for one dislike apartments the only reason living in the apartment is not but convenience it more about shortage of houses.

      • Zondor on 12/08/2020 - 16:20

        Too expensive even in ADL. I'm 25m commute from the city and mine cost me $300k. If I were to try get next to the city id be spending 700k on a house.

      • nephilim on 12/08/2020 - 21:15

        You can get 2bd old tiny cottage/attached house next to city in a area like Parkside for 500k, issue is can only have one kid in Adelaide.

        • bonkers22 on 14/08/2020 - 23:12

          Why can you only have one child in Adelaide? Too expensive? Something else?

  • Miami Mall Alien on 12/08/2020 - 14:18
    +8

    You couldn't pay me to live in any apartment built in the last 20 years. They're literally death traps and money pits with a layer of bureaucratic red-tape from strata management/owners corp that'll make you want to swan-dive from your balcony every time you make a minor request to fix an incredibly obvious issue that they're liable for or an issue that wasn't picked up during the building defects phase (of which there will be literally hundreds).

    Buying new apartments is the worst of both worlds of renting and home ownership; it's combines all of the aspects of renting you dislike the most (having to rely on an incredibly unresponsive and financially-demotivated party to fix issues along with being subject to all sorts of rules and restrictions regarding what you're allowed to do in your own home and how you're allowed to modify it) and all of the long-term negatives of home ownership (virtually zero resale value, depreciates like a boulder off a cliff, disproportionately high ongoing maintenance expenses compared to the initial cost, etc.)

    Apartments make sense in Europe, where they're built to far better standards, tenants can opt for incredibly long-term leases and where people have lived in highly urbanised environments for generations and are accustomed to not behaving like complete retards towards their neighbours, for the most part.

    In Australia where apartments have only ever been marginal housing for lower-income demographics for a majority of this country's history and are now being built with a speed and average profit margin that guarantees they will have more defects than the Iraqi Navy, they are a suicidal option. Not to mention, the multistory residential building industry is an unregulated Wild West full of cowboy outfits who can phoenix themselves indefinitely to absolve their owners of any wrongdoing and who farm out and subcontract all of their work to the Nth degree, so the people actually doing the job on building sites are completely unqualified and unaccountable labourers and backpackers.

    The countless number of scandals involving brand-new apartment buildings all across Australia built with catastrophic building defects and incredibly poor quality fit-outs is a testament to this.

    But sure yeah, you can't beat that inner-city loifstoil moite. Whatever the hell that vague idea is and however it differs from being in the suburbs 10km away from the city centre where you can buy a 3/4-bedroom home for the same price as an inner-city studio apartment.

    • netjock on 12/08/2020 - 21:05
      +2

      You know the country is full of numpties when top 10 companies by market cap is:

      4 building societies (CBA, NAB, ANZ, WBC)
      2 earth moving companies (RIO, BHP)
      2 retailers (Woolies and Wesfarmers of Bunnings fame)

      1 is investment bank (Macquarie)
      1 is healthcare (CSL)

      • Jugganautx on 13/08/2020 - 21:01

        wheres your top 10 company?

  • Teasea on 12/08/2020 - 14:33

    I prefer modern townhouses. Many nowadays are built with similar layout to (modern) duplexes where the interior open-space layout is maximised, backyard is minimised (I prefer to go to a local park than be stuck in my small backyard), and the garage is essentially the basement level of the house (also super spacious). A few friends grew up in townhouses and commented on the overall positive communal atmosphere, which is hard to find while living in apartments.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2020 - 15:13

    House yeah, but depends what youre doing
    Small apartment blocks or units are quite nice
    High rise apartments, yeah no

  • kaleidoscope on 12/08/2020 - 15:33

    House… Have lived in enough apartments to say it’s not worth it…

  • ass3ts on 12/08/2020 - 16:53

    I've always had houses, but would like to try living in a whole top-floor apartment of a real high-rise building in the CBD with a sweeping view of the city life.

  • SydStrand on 12/08/2020 - 17:09

    Grew up in a house, lived in both, but prefer a house. Even with great neighbours, sharing walls can feel claustrophobic. There are also strata fees and minimal opportunities to renovate. I also don't like the trend of modern highrises built like shitboxes by developers cutting every conceivable cost. That being said, location is key. I'd pick a well-positioned apartment with 30 minute commute over a house with 60 minutes+ every day of the week. I'd just do my research first, and probably wouldn't buy.

    • Stevecro on 12/08/2020 - 17:30

      I agree with you about the build quality of modern highrises, but new houses are built the same, with maximum cost cutting and very little quality. Most new estates have houses that almost look the same, driving around it looks like blandsville. I have friends in the housing construction industry who tell me how cheaply new houses are built, they use the cheapest flimsiest materials they can get their hands on. Its all about mass production and cost cutting, regardless of whether its a highrise or house. Quality construction of any type of residential property went out of fashion 30 or more years ago.

      • popsiee on 12/08/2020 - 17:59

        Totally agree . Way to go is old brick house and renovate .

        • try2bhelpful on 12/08/2020 - 18:03

          Just got to be careful the foundations are good; especially for a solid brick house. Underpinning those babies cost you a fortune. In general, though, I agree. The Victorian terraces in Fitzroy will, still, be here in 100 years time; stuff built since then probably not so much.

      • SydStrand on 12/08/2020 - 21:11

        Yeah, plenty of McMansions about. But if you're building a house yourself (rather than buying off the plan), you have a lot more input as an owner-builder. Even if you contract construction out to a company like Metricon, you still have a 1:1 contract with the builder. In an apartment block, you buy one itty bitty slice of the pie, and when the developers did a dodgy by skimping on concrete and disappear, you're left holding the bag and SoL.

  • cashless on 12/08/2020 - 17:44

    Apartment = neighbours in adjoining walls/floors = not as good as detached house

  • tessel on 12/08/2020 - 17:51

    Lived in apartment for 12 years. Sorry, gotta be nuts to live in one if you have a choice. Cramped, confined space in a concrete tower.

  • Herbse on 12/08/2020 - 17:54
    +5

    House on a farm, far away from anyone. No dealing with shared driveways, fences, meters, strata BS. No noisy twats at night, no idiots, no burnouts, no loud bikes, just the sound of birds and animals, no light pollution so I can see the milky way on a clear night.

    • tessel on 12/08/2020 - 18:40
      +1

      (profanity) mate you get it. Wish I lived on a 50 acre property near you. You make the perfect neighbour.

    • Emerald Owl on 12/08/2020 - 20:40

      You don’t feel too isolated/scared of home invasions?

      • Herbse on 12/08/2020 - 21:56

        I don't think remote locations have a higher rate of invasions. They might seem that way in movies because it makes for good entertainment.

    • SydStrand on 12/08/2020 - 21:13
      +2

      Yes, I have a dream, and it's not some MLK dream for equality. I want to own a decommissioned lighthouse. And I want to live at the top. And nobody knows I live there. And there's a button that I can press and launch that lighthouse into space.

  • UseHerName on 12/08/2020 - 18:43

    From my teens to early 20's: Apartments hands - hands down. I used to love how modern everything looked, especially the bathroom and kitchen. A small/no yard didn't phase me.

    Now, with 3 kids and 2 (de facto) step-kids who come over every weekend: A house with min. 3 bedrooms and a fenced/walled backyard is essential. It doesn't necessarily keep the kids in, but it slows them down at least. LOL I'm (half) joking :3

  • Vote for Pedro on 12/08/2020 - 19:19

    Theres hybrid options that appeal to me, such as strata villas that have a small yard but are good value compared to a standalone home

  • Seni0r El Cheapo on 12/08/2020 - 19:32
    +1

    I'd like to live in a cave. So I've voted for the question mark.

  • pogichinoy on 12/08/2020 - 19:37
    +1

    House with good neighbours and in a nice area.

    I’d rather live in an apartment in a nice area than a house in a crap area.

    Proximity is perhaps the most important factor.

  • cuppaciano on 12/08/2020 - 19:40

    Appartment.
    If I can dream big I'd get a penthouse.
    I hate doing the backyard and frontyard. I like the view from skyrises. Security tends to be better in an apartment complex. Don't need to climb stairs constantly (if I don't get my penthouse). More convenient location.

  • justwii on 12/08/2020 - 20:14

    House, coz I like to play trampoline.
    By the way, is it possible to fuse units together to make a bigger one?

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