House - or apartment?
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006
Most people look at buying a home as being a single family house, with its own plot of land, out in the suburbs. That’s been the great American dream for the last 40 years plus, with the proliferation of cars making a commute both feasible and sensible. Sensible because, with price differentials between city and suburbs being significant, the savings from moving out more than made up for the additional cost of commuting.
But there is a subtle change coming; with single parent families or even single person families, the advantage of larger family homes vanishes. Increasing traffic jams and long commute times, coupled with the increase in gas costs, make this a lot more troublesome than before. And unlike the past, where significant price differentials existed, there’s been a counter trend; choice suburban locations now cost far more than city locations.
Now add to that the greater facilities available within city areas, alternatives for work and entertainment, and more time available. Some cities are seeing a renaissance in inner-city boroughs, with old-time depressed areas becoming the new bohemian haunts. But as yet, prices haven’t necessarily followed suit.
That brings us back to the question - house, or apartment? More on this tomorrow.
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