same suburb, house vs townhouse

This is the question I've been pondering: same suburb, similar budget for IP - should I buy a worse-located house or better-located townhouse? Which is more likely to have better capital growth? (my goal is cg)

As an example, I'll use the Mount/Glen Waverly area. I know technically it's not the same suburb, but I think the area has a similar profile.
I'm looking at sub-1.2mn houses, 1mn would be good but not essential.

I can get some decently-located detached townhouses (near trains etc):
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-glen+waverley-118647367
880k - close to trains - very little land
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-townhouse-vic-mount+waverley-130648334
1.111 - close to trains, very little land
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-townhouse-vic-mount+waverley-130213778
1.1 - close to trains, very little land
[basically, all these options are good for commuters, but does that even matter?]

Or...
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-mount+waverley-130245342
1.155 - 730sqm, backs onto reserve (potential negative?), not that walkable
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-mount+waverley-131058178
890k (seems a comparative bargain) - slightly close to freeway (but from maps looks like not close enough to be affected by noise/pollution), can't walk to trains
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-glen+waverley-131833598
1.02 - backs onto reserve, 720sqm

I'm thinking that given how much more land the houses have, they might be better bargains despite being further away from trains and shops... These are just random samples, there are maybe better bargains out there.

But how much does location matter? There are very few walk-to-train townhouses , so there seems maybe a slightly higher scarcity factor there?
I think, if it were a different suburb with a lower price point (eg Croydon) I'd prefer a townhouse (even a duplex with a shared wall), that's more of a young family/FHB suburb where they prefer smaller house and better location?

vs Mount and Glen Waverly where perhaps people with high-school aged kids would prefer a bigger house? I'm aware of the foreign buyer component in the Waverly market, but not sure how that affects the house/townhouse preference

 

wow, missed those power lines completely! These are just sample sold properties which I haven't seen in person - how could you tell? 42 sandgate looking again, I believe you can actually see from the first photo

For 64 Bruce I was concerned about backing onto the reserve, I now notice it's also backing onto something called "Mount Waverly Drain" which doesn't sound pleasant to live near

I'm guessing I should shift my sights to a different suburb.
(which brings up a whole different can of worms, eg "townhouse in Mt Waverly vs house in Ringwood"...)

End of day (when comparing in the same suburb) I suppose I should spend a bit more and get land further away from train/shops?

I find the house vs townhouse cg a bit hard to determine, especially when they aren't apples to apples in terms of location. I've been watching townhouses in Bentleigh (south of Centre Road) and most seem to have appreciated from 650/700ish to 1.2ish, depending on location (ie near the Centre Road shops/train have done well). vs houses a bit further out seem to have performed better...
Again, I know it'll vary based on suburb, and I only have this one past observation to depend on.

 

thank you for your detailed analysis on 1/14 vs 64 Bruce! Interestingly I think 1/14 was the only GWSC zone place I saw... I'd love to have an IP in that zone and the lower entry point does make it attractive... :/

 

Ah, lovely, a drain that's not a drain! Good news for once

So if you were to pick between the two, which would you pick? I know it's all hypothetical, but still...
You seem to know the area very well! I'm still undecided about the IP location but am leaning towards somewhere preferred by Asian buyers, a good high school zone seems a good bet (hence mt/glen waverly, followed by Ringwood/Ringwood East)

The Bruce St info is helpful, makes me think that a sub-1.2mn house in Mt/Glen Waverly is still possible, though the market may have moved by the time I'm all set to buy.

 

You can still get original houses in GW at 1.2 but less likely in GWSC zone. Brentwood yes (see recent sales around Watson’s Rd) and if outside both of these school zones maybe even a little cheaper.
School zoning is big in GW.
Good luck!

 

I've tried that before. The cops don't buy it.

But, erh, in my mind, in general, the benefits of a house always outweigh those of a townhouse in the same suburb.