A Look At Townhouses

Aside from condominiums and apartments, townhouses has also been one of the many popular terms used by people to describe a row of houses or exclusive community or complex. So what is a townhouse? And what are its types around Asia and in other countries?

Townhouses is one of the many entities pertaining to houses which can be closely related to condominiums and apartments. So what is a townhouse? Historically in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries, a townhouse (or a "house in town") was a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. However, the term is now used to define a row of houses typically found in an exclusive community or complexes.

Types of townhouses around the world are different between country to country, Britain and Ireland being the first ones to establish this type of housing, which is commonly known today as terraced housing. In Asia, Australia and South Africa, however, townhouses are generally found in complexes. According to Philippines property specialists, these complexes would usually have high security, resort facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, parks and playground equipment.

Typically, a townhouse has a Strata Title, i.e. a type of title where the common property (landscaped area, public corridors, building structure etc.) is owned by a corporation of individual owners and the houses on the property are owned by the individual owners. Most countries in Asia, such as in Hong Kong, townhouses in private housing developments remain almost exclusively populated by the very wealthy due to the rarity and relatively large sizes of the units.

According to Philippines property specialists, Hong Kong townhouses could go as high as HK$285 million (USD$37 million), a price recorded in 2008. In the Philippines, townhouses have also been a very popular venue for many Filipinos, however, the difference is that townhouses in the Philippines can also be called as a condominium. This type of townhouse was mainly influences by Western-style townhouses which are known as condominium townhouses.

In condominium townhouses, the purchaser owns only the interior, while the building itself is owned by a condominium corporation. According to Philippines property specialists, the corporation is jointly owned by all the owners, and charges them fees for general maintenance and major repairs. Commonly in the suburbs of major cities an old house on a large block of land is demolished and replaced by a short row of townhouses, built 'end on' to the street for added privacy.