House Type In Canada: A complete View 

House Type in Canada

• House type in Canada can be categorized into detached, attached, semi-detached, and linked houses by appearance.
• It also can be grouped into a single family, multi-unit, and condo by ownership and usage.
• It is necessary for a first time homebuyer to have an understanding of the features of each type of house in Canada, what it costs in general, and how the home market value is determined. Then you can decide which house type fits you and plan your budget accordingly. 

What is a detached house?

• The distinctive feature of a detached house is that it has an individual lot, separated from neighbor houses. Thus it has more privacy and less impact from neighbors.
• But it is the most expensive type of house compared to other types with a similar location, square foot, age, etc.
• The unpredictable epidemic drives the market more unforeseeable, and the current market value for detached houses is over $1.2M by average in GTA

What is a link house?

• A Link House is deceivingly similar to a detached house by appearance. In fact, it is attached to a neighboring building either with the foundation wall below ground or with a garage wall above ground.
• Thus the value of the link house is slightly lower than a detached house in a similar size and location.
• Since it is hard to tell from the detached home by mere appearance. The seller should disclose it in the listing.

What is a semi detached house?

Semi detached homes have only one wall attached to each other. Semi-detached homeowners may also share the driveway.

A semi-detached house stands between attached and detached in terms of features and cost. It is a good option for buyers who want privacy but couldn’t afford to buy the detached one.

What is a townhouse

• An attached property is attached to another structure through one or both of the sidewalls, or through the floor or ceiling.
• Townhouses, including condo townhouses, are typical examples. They’re often built in rows and thus named row houses. Occasionally you can see one townhouse on top of another, and sequentially it is called stacked townhouses.
• A townhouse has less privacy, but it is more cost-competitive compared to a detached house. The current market value for detached houses is reaching close to $1M for freehold townhouses.

What is a condo

• The buyer has sole ownership in an individual unit and is shared with other owners in common elements such as the lobbies, parking area, elevators, amenities, etc. Some condo owners may have exclusive use of specific common elements.
• A condo could be a highrise apartment, low-rise building, or condo townhouse by appearance.
• Normally, Condo is located in an area close to transit and amenities. It offers a living style, and no need to worry about maintenance outside of the unit.
• The condo is the most affordable dwelling in similarity. The average one-bedroom in GAT is around $600,000.
• However, the maintenance fee is quite high and it could go up to high hundreds.

What is a condo townhouse? 

In essence, a condo townhouse is a type of condo, though it appears like a normal freehold townhouse. The owner owns the unit, but the exterior is shared with other owners.

On the contrary, for a freehold townhouse, you own the home, the land it sits on, and possibly a yard. 

What is a bungalow

• By appearance, it looks to have one floor or one floor and a half, shorter than the currently popular 2 story house.
• The primary living area is on one floor with few or no stairs. It is an old-fashioned building. It often has a larger lot size and a higher land value.
• The cost is noticeably lower than the newly built. Some people may fix up and flip the market. But you need to make sure it complies with the zoning by-laws and it is not a heritage house. 

What is a Triplex? How does it differ from Duplex?

A Triplex home has 3 individual living units with separate entrances.  Each units may share one or two common walls. Each unit of has its own living room, kitchen, bathroom, and separate door to exit.

Depending on how many individual dwelling units are in the same building with separate entrances or a shared entryway, multi-unit dwellings could be categorized into Duplex, Triplex, and Fourplex. It is a good option for rental investment.