Townhouse, twin house or villa — what is the difference?

What do the three have in common?

All three are houses rather than flats, and each one is reached through its own entrance off the compound's internal road. The difference between them is how much of the building and of the plot each home keeps to itself.

What is a villa?

A villa is a detached house standing alone on its own plot. The land around it, the garden and every wall belong to that one house, and no wall is shared with a neighbour. It is the widest of the three, with open space on more than one side, and it gives a single household the largest private outdoor area.

What is a twin house?

A twin house is two houses built as one building and joined along a single shared wall, each the mirror image of the other. Each half keeps its own entrance, its own garden and its own share of the plot, but the two households share that one structural wall. A twin house sits between the villa and the townhouse: more private than a townhouse, less private than a villa.

What is a townhouse?

A townhouse is a row of similar houses built in one continuous block, each with its own entrance and its own frontage. The houses at the two ends of the row have a neighbour on one side only; the houses in the middle have a neighbour on each side. The outdoor space is a front or rear garden within the row rather than land on every side.

How does sharing a wall change the space and the price?

The more walls a home shares, the smaller the share of land that stands behind it and the narrower its frontage. For the same internal space, a villa carries a whole plot, a twin house carries half a plot and a middle townhouse carries a strip — which is why the asking price falls in that order between homes of comparable size. When you compare two listings, compare the internal space you actually get and the private outdoors that comes with it, not the headline price alone.

Which of the three suits which buyer?

A villa suits a household that wants land on all sides, room for a private pool or a large garden, and the least shared structure. A twin house suits a household that wants a house with its own garden and entrance while accepting one shared wall and a smaller plot. A townhouse suits a household that wants a house of several floors with an entrance of its own, on a smaller plot and at a lower entry price.

What should I check in the contract before I choose?

The unit's type on the listing is the start, not the whole answer. What the contract and the drawings attach is the plot the house stands on, the outdoor space that goes with it, and whether that space is for your exclusive use. Read which walls are shared and whether a roof or a terrace belongs to the unit, and ask the developer in writing for the plot and outdoor figures of the exact unit you are reserving — two units of one type in the same compound can stand on different shares. That written answer is what you compare, not the label on its own.