“It’s the middle ground, literally and figuratively, for a lot of millennials,” Andy Baker said. “They want to be close to the downtown, so being a few miles away is the best of both worlds. You have some green space but you don’t have the parking hassles.”
The typical U.S. townhouse has less than 2,000 square feet, compared with about 2,500 square feet for a detached house, Dietz said.
Clarke, the Michigan builder, said many of his buyers couldn’t afford a single-family home close to the action in downtown Royal Oaks. A detached home in the area would be about $100,000 more expensive than the $280,000 his townhouses go for, he said.
“You’re giving up your yard,” Clarke said, “but what you’re getting is that you’re walking distance from the restaurants and bars.”