I'm often asked what type of housing appreciates most quickly: single-family house, town home, condo, co-op, or multi-family building. As frustrating as it seems, the answer depends on where you live, and what other types of homes are nearby.
If you live in a neighborhood filled with condominiums, your condo should appreciate at the same rate as all of the other condos in the neighborhood.
Traditionally, single-family homes appreciate faster than any other type of housing. But, if you live on a block of multi-family apartment buildings, your single-family home won't appreciate as fast as a nearby block that is entirely composed of single-family residences.
Of course, it's not just the housing type that has an impact on appreciation. The precise location of your property on the block, the neighborhood and school district that you've chosen, and even the aesthetics of your block (granted, purely subjective), add to and subtract from the overall value.
For the best appreciation, choose a neighborhood that either has a great mix of housing types, or is fairly homogeneous.
