The investment prospect of various types of residential building

There are generally a few types of residential units that exist in the property market namely

1.Terrace house.
2.Semi-Detached house.
3.Bangalow house.
4.Apartment.
5.Condominium.
6.Town House.

Terrace house, semi detached house and bungalow house are classified as landed property.

Landed property consist of mainly a building that is built on a piece of land with individual land title.

Apartment, condominium and townhouse are classified as non-landed property and these types of property are only issued strata title as there many units that share the same piece of land.

For all types of residential units, there is further classification as to whether the land is freehold or leasehold. Freehold land entitle the owner to own the land in perpetuity whereas leasehold land allow the owner to own the land for period specified in the lease.

Property with freehold title appreciate faster in the long term compared with the property with freehold title.

Landed property also appreciate faster in the long term compared with the non landed property.

If one is considering buying a landed property for investment purpose, it is wise to consider buying a freehold landed property with large land area such as semi-detached or bangalow because as time goes by, the building deteriorate and depreciate but the land appreciate, normally the appreciation in land value far outweight the depreciation in building value. As such one can find old semi-detached or bangalow house at strategic location fetch high value even though the house is in very run down condition. However, it is worth noting that landed property seldom fetch high rental return unless it is situated at road side and used for commercial purpose.

For those who need high rental return, it is wise to consider high end luxury condominium at location favoured by expatriate.

Therefore, the choice of residential units depend very much on individual requirement. If high rental return is your priority, then high end condo is the obvious choice. If you do not need high rental return to pay the monthly installment, then landed property with large land are can be considered as in the long term, such investment is equivalent to investment in a piece of land and land value appreciate over long term unmatch by other investment.