Ever-popular terraces come up trumps for buyers leaving big houses behind

Terraces are now trumping apartments as the favourite for many downsizers. 

“A terrace gave us enough space and privacy and also we have pets as well,” says Bella Cheung, 50, one downsizer who chose a terrace in Paddington over apartments just about everywhere else. 

“I know many apartments these days do allow pets, but we wanted a small yard for our dogs too. Nowhere would we get all that in an apartment.”

And Sebastian Younan, who wanted to move from a big house in Wahroonga to a smaller home somewhere else, also ended up in a terrace. “A terrace has at least the psychological advantage of owning a piece of land,” he says.

“Also, I don’t have to share the basement and lifts and lobbies with other people.”  

Suddenly, a sexy little terrace in Surry Hills, a chic one in Chippendale or a perfect terrace pad in Paddington seem to be gaining ground over high-density high-rises for empty-nesters.

Freedom for pets, privacy, a traditional yearning for land, as well as the prospect of dealing with bodies corporate and strata fees are all elements quoted in terraces’ favour.

For Bella Cheung, the opportunity to renovate a terrace in Surry Hills was simply irresistible. Downsizing from a house in Paddington, a four-storey terrace offered her a lot more room for her grown-up family than an apartment ever would. It also meant everyone had privacy with almost a complete level for each person.

“My children are grown up now but I’m still happy to have them around and a terrace gives us that space,” says Cheung, who works in recruitment. “It means that we virtually each have a level to ourselves. We’d never have anything like that level of privacy in an apartment.”

Younan, 30, a director of building company Nazero Group, says location was very important to him too, and, wanting to downsize to Paddington, it was an area with simply more terraces than apartments. 

“Financially, a terrace makes a lot of sense too,” he says., “As a proportion of new stock coming onto the market, terraces are becoming increasingly scarce.

“People are building a lot more houses and apartments, but not many terraces. So over a longer period it will be a good investment as well.”   

Agents say Cheung and  Younan’s taste for terraces is very much on trend today. “The key reason is that a terrace in somewhere like Paddington or Woollahra offers an apartment lifestyle without having to deal with bodies corporate or levies,” says Ben Collier, property partner at The Agency. 

“They’re just as convenient as apartments, you can lock up and leave them when you want to travel and, at the same time, you still have a bit more control over your destiny. Recently, we’ve been dealing with quite a few downsizers. They no longer need a big garden and a pool and the only thing they might miss out on from an apartment is a view.”

Collier is marketing a three-level terrace at 130 Paddington Street that he says is absolutely perfect for downsizers, with all the pleasures of the Paddington lifestyle close by.

“They’ll have the best the area can offer from a house that looks like a charming traditional little Victorian terrace at the front, but which opens up to double-height ceilings with the living room open to the north and three levels of living,” he says.

Over the past few years, there have been a stream of empty-nesters coming from big houses on the north shore looking for terraces in the eastern suburbs and CBD, reports Dominic D’Etorre, principal of D’Ettorre Real Estate.    

“I’ve noticed a real trend,” he says. “Often people prefer a terrace as it’s their own little piece of land close to the city and many of them have parking, but they don’t require the maintenance of a big house. 

“An unrenovated one also gives them the opportunity to create their own perfect city pad, opening them up with skylights, or a renovated one means they don’t have any work to do.”

Pets are certainly a major factor for empty-nesters choosing terraces over apartments, believes Catherine Dixon of BresicWhitney, who’s finding a third of her business is now from north shore downsizers. 

“A lot of units do allow pets now but most stratas have a lot of rules around them, and some even interview dogs to make sure they’re suitable, while some company-title units don’t allow them at all,” she says. 

“Also, with an apartment, you might be paying up to $3000 a quarter in strata fees. The brief we are getting now from buyers is that they prefer a two-storey terrace with two equally-sized bedrooms with a bathroom on the same floor.”

The cosmopolitan hub of Surry Hills has plenty of terrace houses. Photo: Louie Douvis

Suburbs with terraces that are proving the most popular are Paddington, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills in the eastern suburbs, Chippendale and Darlington around the city, and Balmain, Erskineville and Newtown in the inner west.

Buyers love the cafes, restaurants and walkability these areas offer, as well as the public transport.

“Most of our downsizers in the Balmain area we find are fit and active couples in their 50s and 60s, moving from the north shore and north-west,” says Peter Gordon, of Cobden & Hayson. “They don’t want lawns to mow any more or pools or big backyards.”

The only real concern for downsizers with terraces are usually the stairs. David Servi of agents Spencer & Servi says some terraces have very narrow, steep staircases which can be a concern, especially with older downsizers.       

“We’re also now getting a lot of inquiries from people wanting single-storey terraces for that very reason,” he says.

“I think there simply aren’t enough big apartments and terraces can have a lot of room and people like them for their animals and to have a little garden. They’re definitely on many wishlists now.”