You've got one relative happily ensconced in a suite at 208 Queens Quay and another raising a brood of kids in a sprawling house in Ajax. Both of them swear by their real estate and think you should follow their example. Financially, you're able to do either. Each property has advantages and disadvantages to a person at your stage of life. So how do you decide? Well, you could flip a coin, or you could consult our guide to how houses and condos stack up against one another.

Commute Times

The locations in which you might find for a condominium , downtown Toronto, for example, are often urban while the places you'll find single family homes are usually more suburban. Depending on where you work, choosing between a home and a condo could mean choosing between a three hour commute and a three minute commute. Before you choose, decide on how much time per day you're willing to spend in traffic jams or on public transit.

Space

This is the biggest consideration for most people, as in general, condo units simply cannot compete with single family homes in terms of space to spread out. If you've got three kids and a dog, you'd be pretty cramped in a condo, meaning your only real choice is to look for a London, Ontario home for sale. Whereas if it's just you or you and a partner, you have the option of choosing a small easily maintained space or a larger space that will take more time and effort to keep up.

Amenities

Private yards and/or gardens are the primary attraction of houses when it comes to amenities because of the added space. In this category, Richmond Hill Condos definitely takes the cake, because many buildings or complexes in the city offer their tenants such features as laundry, parking, concierge, 24 hour security, exercise rooms, swimming pools, entertainment centers, and meeting rooms. You'd have to go to an awful lot of effort to find a house that has all of these features or set them up yourself, and it would cost you dearly.

Lifestyle

All other factors being equal, it can come down to a question of lifestyle. What sort of person you are can dictate what sort of properties you would choose from the Windsor, Ontario real estate listings. Are you a city person, with a love of fine dining, convenient entertainment, crowds, excitement, and fast-paced living? If you are, a condo would put you right in the thick of things. Or are you more of a country person, who likes privacy, neighborliness, room to spread out, quiet streets, and leafy gardens? If you are, a detached home would be your personal haven.