What is a Detached House?
Real estate agents define detached housing or detached homes as houses that are separate from any other structure and being for single families only. The home’s structure is not attached to anything else – legally or physically – and the home’s title is not registered as part of a condominium or strata. A detached house is a standalone home in all ways.
Real Estate Agent Explains Detached House
The abbreviation used by real estate agents and the Edmonton real estate board on MLS® listings is DETCH. They are also known as Single Detached Housing by the City of Edmonton.
Half of all homes in Edmonton are detached houses. This is likely because we have so much space here in Alberta. Besides in areas like downtown, there has been no need to build apartment complexes or rowhouses even in times of great economic activity. The City of Edmonton has grown outwards rather than upwards – a situation that is common with prairie cities where adjacent farmland can be easily annexed.
Some people mistakenly think that houses with detached garages are the definition of detached homes, but this is not the case. Whether a garage is attached or not does not affect this designation.
Why Does It Matter?
I think the vast majority of people who buy a home in Edmonton would like a detached house. Sometimes, people prefer to have a community around them as in a condominium or apartment, but there seems to be a prevailing interest in privacy and space that only a detached home can provide. Detached houses offer the greatest privacy and space you can hope to achieve in the city. Many times other forms of housing are chosen for reasons of price, but when it comes to primary residences, detached housing is still the most desirable form of property out there.
