Following the housing downfall of 2008, the ways in which the housing market has bounced back has been varied but steady. And, particularly with a new wave of homebuyers poking their way into the market, one of the ways the housing market has seen a comeback has been with the continual construction of townhomes.
In fact, townhome purchases have been steadily rising over the last ten years following the Great Recession, with a solid market trend emerging especially at the end of 2018. During the fourth quarter of that year, new townhome construction actually totaled about 123,000, or 24% higher than seen during the previous three quarters.
And now? The market share of townhouses reportedly stands close to approximately 14% of all new single-family construction — which is a “near post-recession high,” according to Chief Economist Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders.
And the reason that townhomes have recently seen a moderate boom in popularity? They present an ideal opportunity for first-time homebuying families who are seeking to escape the rental landscape.
Townhomes are often more affordable than their detached single-family home counterparts, particularly for the Millenials who are simultaneously old enough to insert themselves in the housing market but young enough to carry a large sum of the national student loan debt, as the average loan balance among Millenials is approximately $33,000 today.
And, combined with other lifestyle variables, such debt can render it more challenging for future waves of potential homebuyers to afford a downpayment, as the national average balance is nearly three times higher than today’s median down payment of about $11,400, according to realtor.com.
Townhomes, however, present a more financially palatable option due to lower real estate taxes, a lack of through-the-roof homeowners association fees, and more.
In total, townhomes offer the perfect medium for new homebuyers hoping to leave their rental days behind them without inadvertently straining their finances more than they can handle.
