By Rachel Wharton | The New York Times
When Americans go shopping for a house, they still tend to buy the detached single-family variety — 77 percent, according to 2023 research from Zillow. But townhouses are emerging as a bright spot for first-time buyers and builders alike, for both financial and practical reasons.
“The white picket fence is still the American dream, but a townhome gives you the same feeling of independence at a lower price point and less maintenance,” said Amanda Pendleton, a home trends expert with Zillow. “And if you are lucky you get some outdoor space or a patio.”
The national median price for a townhouse was $357,000 in 2025, according to Zillow’s research — $12,000 less than a single-family home. There are often homeowners association fees attached, but as Ms. Pendleton noted, they can offset the expenses and headaches that come with maintaining a home.
For builders, smaller lot sizes and shared walls, floors and utility hookups reduce costs. If local zoning allows it, developers can squeeze more housing into walkable areas close to schools, retail and transit than would be possible with single-family houses, said Robert Dietz, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), who has been “cheerleading” townhouses since the end of the Great Recession.
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Related: Cyclical Weakness for Townhouse Construction – Robert Dietz, NAHB