711 FREDERICK Street, Kitchener, N2B2B3
711 FREDERICK Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2B2B3
72 INGLESIDE DR, Kitchener, N2M2G8
72 Ingleside Drive, Kitchener, Ontario N2M2G8
73 WILLIAM Street W, Waterloo, N2L1J6
73 WILLIAM Street, Waterloo, Ontario N2L1J6
71 WILLIAM Street W, Waterloo, N2L1J6
71 WILLIAM Street, Waterloo, Ontario N2L1J6
606 MONTPELLIER Drive Unit# A, Waterloo, N2T0B2
606 MONTPELLIER Drive, Waterloo, Ontario N2T0B2
303 PARK Street, Kitchener, N2G1N2
303 PARK Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2G1N2
Read More About Semi-Detached Homes in Kitchener-Waterloo
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Semi-Detached Houses in Kitchener-Waterloo
Hello, and welcome to the WRX Property Group website and blog! We’ve been exploring the different types of properties available for sale throughout Kitchener-Waterloo, and discussing the key details of each. From price and location to style and advantages/disadvantages, we hope to provide more information so that you can decide what sort of property best fits your needs.
Semi-Detached Homes
As the title suggests, our topic for today is: Semi-Detached Houses. Before we take a closer look at Semi-Detached Houses in Kitchener-Waterloo, let’s quickly discuss just what constitutes a Semi-Detached Houses, generally. In our article on Common Types of Homes in Kitchener-Waterloo, we described them as, “Semi-detached buildings come in pairs: two properties that are attached side by side, or back to back. Save for the attached side, there is open space on all other sides.”
Detached Homes stand on their own: a structure with lawn (large or small) on all sides. They share no walls with another structure. Townhomes are erected in rows, typically stand two floors or higher, and share between one and two walls with other Townhomes in their overall unit. Semi-Detached Homes fall somewhere in between these two. Semi-Detached Homes share a single wall with another Semi-Detached Home; these two homes are typically mirror images of one another.
Semi-Detached Houses offer some benefits of each: they feature lower costs than comparable Detached Houses, and they offer more privacy than Townhouses. By sharing just a single wall, as opposed to sometimes multiple shared walls on multiple storeys, they are a great option for anyone looking for a middle option between Detached and Townhouse. Semi-Detached Houses are single-family units.
Where Are Semi-Detached Houses in Kitchener-Waterloo
Semi-Detached Houses are ideal for homebuyers looking for lower prices than Detached Houses, but more privacy than Townhouses (and a less ‘vertical’ layout than is often found in Townhouses). For these reasons, they are quite popular in Kitchener-Waterloo, and Canada generally (particularly in Toronto).
See Semi-Detached Homes for Sale in Kitchener-Waterloo
You can find Semi-Detached Homes in several distinct areas across Kitchener-Waterloo. That said, they do tend to exist in specific clusters, and they can be harder to find in certain areas. Southwest Kitchener – an area being developed extensively – has fewer Semi-Detached models than central Kitchener, for example; many new-build Detached are being built in Southern Kitchener.
An area with among the most consistent Semi-Detached sales in Kitchener is the overall Laurentian neighbourhood, in the west-side of Kitchener, particularly south of the Fischer-Hallman / Ottawa Street intersection. Many can be found in and around the Chicopee / Centreville and Stanley Park neighbourhoods of eastern Kitchener, as well.
There is a more even distribution of Semi-Detached Homes in Kitchener than Waterloo; however, both the Lakeshore and Colonial Acres neighbourhoods of Waterloo have seen multiple recent sales of Semi-Detached Homes, mostly falling in the $350,000 – $400,000 range (more on prices shortly, though). There is a central corridor in Kitchener-Waterloo with very few Semi-Detached Homes, running along King Street S. from its intersection with Queen Street S in Downtown Kitchener, north through Uptown Waterloo, and beyond the University campuses and Columbia Street West. Homes in or near the Uptown core, Semi-Detached or otherwise, will typically fall under a higher price range.
Prices of Semi-Detached Houses in Kitchener-Waterloo
On the lower end of the spectrum, it’s possible to find Semi-Detached Homes for under $300,000 in Kitchener (there were 7 sales under that price over the last year, ranging from just under $220,000 to nearly $300,000). The lowest price you can expect to find in Waterloo, by contrast, will be $330,000+. Most of the Semi-Detached Homes in this price range will be around 1,000 square feet. Furthermore, the homes in this price range are typically older (many were constructed in the ‘50s – ‘70s period) and some may require repairs and/or renovations.
Quite a few of the Semi-Detached Homes available in Kitchener-Waterloo fall somewhere in the $300,000 – $400,000 range. Budgeting for that price will give prospective buyers a good amount of freedom of choice, as the Semi-Detached Homes in that range can be found in diverse neighbourhoods, each offering their own pros and cons: Alpine Village, the outskirts of Downtown Kitchener, and Lakeshore in Waterloo, for example.
In terms of the higher-priced Semi-Detached Houses in Kitchener-Waterloo, there are quite a few in the $400,000 – $500,000 range. There were 10 Semi-Detached sales for over $500,000 in the last year, all over 1,500 square feet and in sought-after neighbourhoods like Vista Hills and Uptown Waterloo. By and large, the Semi-Detached Homes priced over $420,000 will be either quite new (many built in 2015 or more recently), more spacious, offer updated amenities, and sometimes all three.
Looking at the big picture, there were 20 Semi-Detached Homes sold in Kitchener-Waterloo in January 2019, at an average price of $407,852. January 2018 saw 27 Semi-Detached Homes sold here, at an average price of $388,974. As for summer 2018, looking at the July numbers there were 53 Semi-Detached Homes sold in Kitchener-Waterloo (a notable increase over July 2017), at an average price of $397,644.
Prices for Semi-Detached Homes are climbing fairly steadily, year-to-year, and they remain not only worthy of consideration for prospective investors (the value of these properties is appreciating annually), but also an excellent option for either first-time buyers, young families, or anyone looking for lower overall costs than similar Detached Homes, but more privacy than a Townhouse offers.
Due in large part to their in-between status, Semi-Detached Homes will always have a place in the Kitchener-Waterloo market. Averages for the overall residential sales in the Region are consistently climbing (looking at a month’s numbers compared to the same month, one year prior), and Semi-Detached Homes provide an option that is more affordable than fully Detached models.
Conclusion
Semi-Detached Homes are ideal for many sorts of buyers, as they adhere to the Goldilocks principle: less expensive than Detached Houses, but more private than Townhouses. For some, that middle ground is just right. Two things to note, though: the disadvantages to Semi-Detached Homes are, conversely, that they are less private than Detached Houses, and more expensive to Townhouses. Secondly, the adaptability of Semi-Detached Homes shouldn’t necessarily preclude looking at Townhouses and Detached Houses, each of which have flexible price ranges and their fair share of benefits.
If you’d like to know more, or if you’re interested in our help in finding the Semi-Detached Home of your dreams, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re always happy to help.
Written by Will Kummer