I think I just stumbled across an investment strat - free (cause I got no more $)

Yeah I have no more $ so I can't really take advantage of this, otherwise I'd be all over it. It's also probably not a particularly new one but it's new to me by virtue of me getting older and seeing things from a different perspective.

So I recently bought a 1 story townhouse. We were initially looking for a ground or first floor apartment for health reasons, but a 1 story townhouse / villa came out of nowhere and we jumped on it - the opportunity to have a "backyard" and no loud footsteps from above was too hard to resist. Anyway so out of curiosity I did some searching for historical sales going back about 10-12 years across about 5-6 suburbs in my search area and it was slim pickings when it came to 1 story townhouses. Rare as hens teeth. And of those that I could find...they were either next to train lines, or well beyond walking distance to any amenities, I struggled to find anything decent. And I'm not talking about low density areas in suburbia where you wouldn't expect many townhouses to begin with - I'm talking about inner west / south Sydney.

Now today I read this post: Residential Lifts

This has made me realise that, for health reasons, when you need ground floor, you need ground floor. It's made me realise it's so much more important than I initially gave it credit for. And for half the price of a house? I can't help but think this is a little niche that will perform. The combination of appealing to an ageing demographic and lack of supply means one could do well picking up as many of these as possible. And it's not like supply is likely to increase; it makes much more economic sense for developers to focus on 2 story townhouses as you get more living space out of a given piece of land. Is this an idea anyone has ever toyed with before? Feel free to tell me I've simply stated the obvious.

 

In Sydney, they're called villas. Suburbs like Northmead and Bexley are chockers with them. There are some in Lane Cove but are on a hillside so not the flattest terrain. A few in Marrickville & plenty of other suburbs.

What's wrong with the old humble semi? Lots of those in Syd/Mlb/Bris

 

Dont see excessive demand for these. Elderly are just as likely to just live in a unit block with lifts. Newer, and usually has a shared area maintained by body corp.

Having a garden is nice but only if you can take care of it.

 

I see villa's as an 'in demand' item. MIL had one in Sefton before she had to move to a retirement home. It was perfect for her. Gave her the space of a small house, with a tiny courtyard out back, but not the crowded feel of a unit. Of course, younger people may prefer an ultra modern unit with all the mod con's, but for an older person used to living in a house, it's perfect.

 

Not necessarily - Plenty of elderly can look after a garden too.

Where my Mum lives, every unit has a courtyard and the owners can make it gardeny or not. Think about all the apartment dwellers who crave a larger balcony or who cant open their windows due to high winds.

 

Just a casual browse through these areas doesn't show up that many (searching Domain > "Sold" > "Townhouse" filter, browsing the last few years of sales) however Bexley...you're right, I wonder why there are so many in that particular suburb?! I was looking at Ashfield, Burwood, Strathfield, North Strathfield and a few other places and I was only able to find like half a dozen sales over the last decade across all these suburbs. I wonder why they were so popular in other areas but almost non-existent in others.

As for semi's, the areas I was looking at semi's were running at about $1.5-2m but townhouses could be had for about 3/4 that price or cheaper.

 

No you're right, I didn't realise how plentiful they are. They were only rare in the areas I was looking in but if you broaden your search they are much easier to find than I thought.