I'd say units and townhouses are more popular at the moment.
Personally, i'm looking to purchase a property there shortly and will be looking at a unit rather than a house.
Basically you can find a unit in Kingswood or close by for $160k (takes some looking around, but it's there!) and lease it for $250 odd a week, whereas to buy a house you're looking at $250k minimum for most places and most will lease for around $300 a week, give or take depending on the property.
However, I think houses would be let for longer periods of time. Eg. 3 bed house with a married couple and two kids would stay in the property for 5 years or so, give or take, however, a young 20 something couple or single may only want to stay in the unit for a year or two until they start a family.
As someone who has lived near the Penrith area for sometime, went to school there, etc. I'd say look for something with easy access to public transport. Which is why i'd rather something in Mount Druitt than Penrith - Purely because there's so many units around Westfield, that aren't too expensive and have lots of potential and plenty of buses and trains. There's also a Primary School down the road, a Tafe and three high schools on the same street.
There's also plenty of houses down there, which are on big enough blocks to subdivide.
I had a friend who lived in Jaminson Town, very quiet area and fairly nice, but although there were regular buses through there, it still took 20 or 30 mins or so to get to Penrith Station!
