What's the difference between a Condominium and a Townhome?

Few of us have ever taken the time to really break down in our minds the difference between a town house and a condominium. We hear them used often interchangeably, but in fact they are not the same thing.

Let’s get into it.

Specifically, a condominium is an individual unit you would own with in a larger complex. In 2022, the average cost of a condo in CA was $412,000. This ranks CA as the 4th highest condo purchase price in the country.

Condominiums are more often built and located in urban communities. Because of the urban locations, as cities develop, it boosts the value of the owned condominium. When you own a condo in a complex with a bunch of sweet amenities (gyms, pools, bbq areas, play areas etc) you get access to all of this nice stuff without having to had purchase it separately. You personally aren't responsible for finding a repair guy when one of the amenities need to be serviced. You personally, don’t have to be out there cleaning all the stuff, or updating it as it gets too old and well used. You do however have to pay HOA fees to cover the cost of other folks taking care of all that for you.

Downsides might be that condo life provides less privacy, less square footage and very little freedom around the exterior appearance.

When you own a townhome, you share a wall with another townhome, but you own the structure of the townhome and the properties surrounding land. Townhouses are being built more in suburban areas these days. Nationwide townhome construction saw a 35% increase between 2020 and 2021, having to do largely with the demand to own homes during the work from boom of the pandemic.

Townhomes provide a little bit more square footage than a condominium, and also include many shared amenities. Because its more similar to a single family stand alone home, its value tends to fluctuate more with the broader housing market. They can appreciate faster, but also suffer during market downturns.

Both condominiums and townhomes are awesome for folks who are attracted to a community minded style of living. Both condos and townhouses are most often part of gated communities, many people find a lot of benefit in the added security that feature provides. They are also a more affordable way for people to own their own home, which is a big deal in the Bay Area, where buying prices are often out of people's reach.

If you are interested in townhouse or condo living, reach out to a Monday Team Agent to get all your questions answered.