Last Updated on April 1, 2024

What Does Property Style Mean? | Real Estate Definition

By Alan F Macdonald

What Does Property Style Mean?

Each real estate listing has a style or property style stated at the top of the listing. The property style describes the kind of home that is being sold (not to be confused with the property type).

Real Estate Agent Explains Property Style

There are quite a few different kinds of styles of home available in Edmonton. Real estate is broken up into different styles on listings in order to better describe the types of homes that are for sale. Think of a property style as a kind of layout for a home.

The kinds of styles available in Edmonton are:

Property Style Abbreviation
Single Level Apartment APART
Multi Level Apartment APRTM
Back Split BK-SP
Bi-Level BLEVL
Bungalow BUNG
Hillside Bungalow BUNGH
Raised Bungalow BUNGR
Bungalow Semi or Semi-bugalow BUNGS
Hillside Split HL-SP
Loft LOFT
Double Wide Mobile Home MOBLD
Single Wide Mobile Home MOBLS
Modular Home MODUL
Not Applicable NA
Penthouse PENTH
Recreational Use RECRE
2 Storey Split SPLT2
3 Level Split SPLT3
4 Level Split SPLT4
5 Level Split SPLT5
1 and Half Storey ST1.5
2 Storey ST2
2 and Half Storey ST2.5
3 Storey ST3
Stacked Townhouse STOWN
Studio Suite STUDI
Villa VILLA

Here is an example of how property styles fit into the classification of a property on a real estate listing:

A chart showing the property styles of a condo
A chart showing the property styles of a particular condo

So here is a chart that shows the hierarchy of property designations. Property class sits at the top, followed by property type and then property style. High-rise apartments can have many styles, but you can see that this particular property has the style of ‘loft’ or ‘single level apartment’ or ‘multi-level apartment’.

Why Does It Matter?

Property styles are important because they dictate the format of the property. With houses and condos, formats can be very important. Perhaps a homeowner has trouble climbing stairs. In that case, a bungalow may be preferable to, say, a two-story house. But perhaps a few stairs at a time are OK. Then a back-split or split level may be OK, too. When it comes to desirability and sales price, those may be dictated by property styles as well. There are certain styles that are trendy at certain times. Trends dictate what styles are used when homes are built, and trend cycles dictate how much those styles are worth in future real estate markets.