Apartments vs Houses

[Ripper]

Hi,

I have bought my first IP (off the plan) 2.5 years ago, in the west suburbs of Melbourne and it is doing pretty well.
Now I am looking to purchase my 2nd IP and I'm not quite sure whether I should go on apartments or houses. Most people I talked to said I should buy what is suites my financial plans
I was wondering if someone could sum up the cons and pros with apartments or houses.

Many thanks!

 

[peastman]

Houses

Pros
Easy to add value, ie sub division potential.
Possibly greater capital growth due to more land.

Cons
Larger building and land require more maintenance.
More expensive to buy into may mean you have to buy into a cheaper suburb.


Units

Pros
Cheaper, which means you can get into a better suburb for same or cheaper price.
Owners Corp takes care of many of the repairs.
Less maintenance

Cons
Possibly less capital growth due to low land content.
Bad owners corp can be a problem to deal with.


Summary
Both have for and against, but both are going to do well over a long period of time. Houses possibly are more of a hands on investment while units may be the lazy way.

 

[Kenster]

Instead of "Should I buy Apartments or Houses",

The better question could be "How can I make money out of this?" then look into each case one by one.

 

[vbplease]

I keep seeing that "higher land content = more capital growth" and I don't agree...

It's only the development potential that land offers which gives a better return.. Otherwise more land that can't be developed is just more grass to mow and more rates to pay..

 

[troyhunt]

Buy the opposite to what you bought last time! People will argue the pros and cons of houses versus units all day long but everyone agrees you should diversify

 

[MPmelb]

I keep seeing that "higher land content = more capital growth" and I don't agree...

It's only the development potential that land offers which gives a better return.. Otherwise more land that can't be developed is just more grass to mow and more rates to pay..

another thing to keep in mind now is that higher land content = land tax...especially if you have a few IP's. So buyer beware.