By Lyn Cox, Public Relations

I recently read a real estate story, one of the many with 2017 predictions, about apartments and houses, and which were more likely to have buyer appeal.

One agent suggested that townhouses had it over apartments when it came to selling, which made me ponder the differences between the two.

Apartments are generally individual residences within a larger building. A townhouse can be freestanding though it can be attached to other townhouses; but in either case, the townhouse tends to have its feet on the ground, so to speak.

This makes townhouses more likely to have yards, courtyards and gardens, and possibly even room for the swimming pool.

Apartments are usually single-storied while townhouses can be single or multi-level homes.

Apparently, apartment buildings date back to Ancient Rome where the wealthy lived on the lavish lower levels and the higher levels were reserved for their servants. Interesting!

Apartments, these days, can be as large and as lavish as any townhouse. Both can offer added security, good access to amenities, and less maintenance.

So why might townhouse be the more popular?

In my case, I like to keep my feet on the ground!

Townhouse owners own the little patch of land their townhouse sits on. Perhaps it is the few second YouTube version of the technicolour Great Australian Dream. If owning a piece of planet Earth is on your wish list, a townhouse will let you live that dream.