Apartment or house, flat or villa. Which is better?
In this article we will talk about pros and cons of apartments vs houses.
There is definitely a difference when it comes to buying a property in Dubai.
What is better to buy a flat or a villa. Where you should invest in real estate or where it’s better to live in.
Read this article till the end to make your decision.
Here we break down the points based on which you can make your decision to purchase a property in Dubai.
1. Location
Now you can say it's obvious that apartments are located right in the middle of all social life events, apartments always have a mall nearby, supermarkets are just 1 minute away ect.
But it wouldn't be entirely correct to say that apartments are only in the center of the city and villas or houses are only on the outskirt.
In Dubai there are plenty of options of townhouses and villas located just in the city.
As well as some apartments are located far from the city busy areas.
But of course most of the houses or villas are more private and isolated and are being located in gated communities.
Apartments have more convenience on the other hand. You will get supermarkets, salons, pharmacies, hospitals, schools just in a short walking distance or a short drive away.
However most villa communities in Dubai are full of shops, salons, laundries. Some of the communities even have their shopping mall. For example Dubai Hills community has it's own large shopping mall called Dubai Hills Mall.
So is it apartment or house which is better for you?
Let's dive in deeper.
2. The view
Here it all comes to your personal preferences. And I tell you this, in Dubai if you have the right amount of money you can get it all in one if you wish.
But let's get back to a generic situation.
Most apartments in Dubai, even affordable ones, have a spectacular view especially if it is a high floor or a mid floor. You can get a sea view, a city view, a water canal view, a park view, a Sheikh Zayed road view. Even on lower floors it can be really nice. There are even buildings that have all types of views combined together.
What about views from the villas?
Well honestly, in 85% situations the view is really boring. But if you are someone who is looking for a calmness or really love nature then the views from villas will make you happy. Unless there is just a fence or a wall view. Most likely a house will have a garden and a road views.
Watch this video to avoid these mistakes when you want to buy an apartment in Dubai.
3. Transportation
This is an important topic you should think about when choosing apartment or villa.
Because transportation is an essential need for someone who has a job or/and a social life.
Even if you are the most introverted introvert you'll still need to reach places at some point.
So of course when buying an apartment you get the chance to live close to the metro or a bus. And if you specifically choose the location of the apartment that is convenient in terms of roads and routes you can reach all places you need in less then 10 minutes or even by walk.
Unlike most villas communities are located either on outskirt of the city or even far from the city. So you will not get the convenience of the public transport. And even if you are not looking to use one and you prefer to drive or you have a driver you'll have to add extra minutes to your daily road trips. And by minutes I mean you should add at least 30. However if you are working from home and your kids are happy to study in a local community school then it shouldn't be an issue for you.
Here I will add my personal opinion. I adore to drive and far places really make me happy, so if there is some amazing property with only this one inconvenience I would definitely take it.
4. Maintenance
Apartment or house which is better when it comes to maintenance?
Either apartment or a house/villa there are spaces that need to be maintained.
Of course in Dubai all residential towers got the whole team working on it and in most of the times they do it seamless, you want even notice the work going on but as a result the corridors are always clean, pool clear and cooled and the trees are happily watered. And the best thing you don't need to put a single effort into this, all you need is just to pay annual service charge.
Which is not a situation for villas. Where you have to be responsible and take care of all the things yourself. Even if you hire someone to do this for you, let's be honest, managing someone is another piece of work and you will need to take decisions and to make a decision you will need to research and learn information. For example do you know anything about pool cooling systems. I don't.
5. Amenities
If you have a budget for extreme luxury property this paragraph will not affect your decision because there are properties that include all amenities possible regardless if it is apartment or villa.
But in 90% cases the situation is like this. All the residential towers have their own gym and pool that you can use anytime for free. This is really in all buildings regardless of the cost of the apartments. And if the apartment is even a little bit above affordable price range you can additionally get a cinema, entertainment room, meetings room, lounge room and restaurants inside the building itself for residents to use.
For the villas it all depends on your budget of course. The basic one doesn't have any of above amenities. For a good amount of money you can get your own pool. And for a really really good amount of money you can get it all together just for you, but let's agree those are very exceptional cases.
In my personal opinion if amenities are really important I would go for apartment.
6. The cost
I believe not much explanations needed here. If you are logical minded person you already made a conclusion that villa or a house running cost is higher then the apartment. It includes the cost of the water and electricity, gas and air conditioning, garden care and so on. You also want to add a transportation cost to this.
Read this article to gain even more understanding: "5 reasons to buy a house in Dubai".
7. Security
In terms of security it really depends on the situation.
But all residential towers have a security 24/7 guaranteed. That is for sure a good point for the apartment.
For villas situations are different. Some villa communities have a really tough security. And some villas are just alone and don't belong to any community there for there is no security.
Me personally I wouldn't worry about it at all. This is Dubai one of the safest city in the world. I'll tell you a secret, most of the residents don't even lock their door.
8. Investment vise
If you are looking for a property for investment I would suggest you to do a research on real rent prices in Dubai and compare them to the purchase price of different properties. You can do it on popular listing websites such as Bayut and Propertyfinder.
But the reality is that it's definitely easier to rent out an apartment rather then a villa. Additionally if you rent your apartment on a short term as holiday home your RIO (return on investment) will be certainly higher.
As well as for flipping I would recommend an apartment.
Summary
In this article we went through the most important points based on which you can decide which is better apartment or house, flat or villa.
You can certainly say that anything is possible in Dubai and all the points did not fully fall in a favor of apartment or house. Therefore it is only up to you to decide and I strongly recommend to explore all options before making a decision.
We can help
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