Unit or Aparment? in Auckland and in NZ wide?

[propertybuyingNZ]

Hi Guys,

something just got me thinking, which one would you prefer, and why?

Unit vs Apartment?

and it is the same across NZ or would depend on where you are?
(for example in AKL apartments are more in favour, in Welly Units are better? or other way around? etc)

Cheers much!

[Damap]

Never buy an apartment if you can afford a unit.

[propertybuyingNZ]

Thanks Damap for your input, I am also on the Unit side, but dont want to influence the survey, ahah

how does it viewed by an international investor?
does growth better on units? appts looks more shiny and neat, some units looks crappy and dated, etc

[Damap]

International investors, depending on the country, have no idea what a unit is. They all mostly understand apartments. In America for example units don't exist really they call them condos. Same in most of Asia that I have been in.

[propertybuyingNZ]

so, does it mean Chinese would go for apartment, as they dont see the value of the units?

added a pol,

[Damap]

I am not sure specifically on Chinese but "unit" is a kiwi term. Most international markets understand apartments. In America an apartment is generally a complex, multiple doors with one title.
"Condo", what we would call a unit or a townhouse.
"Landed property", fee simple house with dirt all around it.

Chinese have money so generally anything other than freehold with land is of little interest. Even in America they buy commercial before they touch multifamily.

They understand the value is in the land and they love to show off so more land the better.

[sidinz]

I am not sure specifically on Chinese but "unit" is a kiwi term. Most international markets understand apartments. In America an apartment is generally a complex, multiple doors with one title.
"Condo", what we would call a unit or a townhouse.
"Landed property", fee simple house with dirt all around it.

Chinese have money so generally anything other than freehold with land is of little interest. Even in America they buy commercial before they touch multifamily.

They understand the value is in the land and they love to show off so more land the better.

I always understood to 'condo' to mean an apartment that took up a whole floor in a multi-storey building? Basically an apartment block where each apartment has its own floor.

[Anomaly14]

What's the difference between a flat and an apartment?

[sidinz]

A flat has its own external entrance. An apartment building has a shared external entrance and a shared internal space from which doors lead into individual apartments.

Typically, flats come from older buildings that have been divided into separate residences. Or, what is now known as a 'unit' used to be called an 'ownership flat.'

[Eugene]

What is a duplex?

[sidinz]

A semi-detached house.

But I believe that in the US they also use the term to describe an apartment that takes up half a floor. I.e. two dwellings per floor of a multi-storeyed building. But I'm not 100% certain on that.

[Anomaly14]

Looking at https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bon...s/market-rent/ it seems there can be quite a difference in market rent between apartments and flats.

[Damap]

A duplex is 2 units joined together on one title. A triplex is 3, a quadplex is 4. Any larger they just get referred to as multi family properties.
In the USA mostly apartment means a complex on one title. Of course then you get large apartments on their own titles as Sidinz says.
A condo is what we would call an apartment but with its own title.

[Eugene]

Thanks sidinz and Damap

[marklowes]

Apartments can be very under-rated and often get a bad rep in terms of lack of cap gains relative to a 'landed' property.

Queen Street (Volt Apartments) - 41 sqm, sold for $309,000 (yesterday). Furnished two bedroom, one bathroom and balcony. Rates $1039.95 and BC Levies $4408.83. Rented for $450 pw. Last sold for $162,222 in 2009.

90% increase in value, just short of doubling in value in 6 years, better than the average price increase (in % terms) of a landed property in auckland. And would kill the landed properties in terms of cashflow/yield along the way to.

When you buy a freehold apartment, often as much as half the value is actually in the land itself. You are buying a small share of central city land (that has already gone through the rigours of getting permission to build, and had all the engineering etc done deeming it suitable for building, this stuff is paid for already, and gets more and more expensive over time). Look at apartment values in the middle of london, NY, HK, Paris.

I wouldnt buy an apartment in an outer suburb (no extreme scarcity there), but these very central, freeholds in the middle of auckland, or even wellington, get you a slice of rubber stamped CBD land that gets more and more scarce as time goes on, and almost always provide decent cash flow along the way.