Best Way to Move From House to House

An extensive article explaining the different types of houses by building blazon. Includes single-family, condo, co-op, apartment, townhome, manor, barndominium, yurt, carriage house, McMansion, tiny abode, mobile abode, manufactured habitation, castle, manor, villa, chateau and more. Photos for each type of firm.

In that location are two ways to categorize the unlike types of houses.

In other words, when people search for "types of houses", some are looking for the unlike abode architectural styles, while others are looking for the different types of residential edifice structures that exist and are bachelor.

For home architectural styles, go here.

For the dissimilar residential building structures and homes, see beneath.

What's the departure?

Architectural styles dictate the style in which a home is built. At that place are many different architectural styles, and these are typically based on some celebrated era or geographical location. Examples include the Cape Cod, Mediterranean, Mid-Century Modern, Georgian, and Ranch styles.

Types of building structures more accurately reflects the meaning of the phrase "types of houses." This definition includes unmarried family unit, condominium, townhome, bungalow, split-level, and castle homes, among others.

Since we accept a dedicated (and pop) article setting out the different architectural styles, this commodity focuses on the different types of edifice structures that are typically used for homes.

Related: Unusual Homes | Business firm and Flooring Plans | Types of Lots | Types of House Foundations | Types of House Insurance

Types of Houses past Structure Type

Unmarried family (detached)

seventy% of Americans live in single-family homes. While it'due south probable that that rate is not virtually equally high in other countries, the single family unit discrete reisdence is a very much sought after type of home.

The single family house is a home that is not fastened to some other habitation in any way. It sits on its own property and stands completely separate from the other houses around information technology. Well-nigh detached unmarried-family homes are located in suburbs throughout N America.

The single family type of home exploded after World War II. During this time, a mass migration to the suburbs took place, as soldiers returned home and settled downwardly into family life. Earlier WWII, just 13% of people lived in suburbs. By 2010, ane-one-half of the United states of america population calls "surburbia" home.

As of 2010, most people seek to live in unmarried-family unit homes, although with the baby boomer generation decreasing in size, demand for alternatives to single-family homes is rapidly growing. Some of these alternatives include condominiums (condos), apartments, and townhomes.

Single family unit detached dwelling photograph example.

Condominium

A condominium is ane abode amid many that are housed within a building or series of buildings on a given piece of land. Each condominium owner has the title to the unit, significant that they own the unit. A condominium building is governed by an elected body (HOA in the United States, or Strata Council in Canada), which makes decisions on behalf of all unit owners and owns the communal areas and land where the condominium sits. This elected torso makes decisions that pertain to maintenance, grounds, regulations, and more.

• Duplex:  A duplex condo refers to a 2 story condo unit. This often results from the joining of ii dissever units and renovating them into i larger unit of measurement. However, some duplex condos are initially built every bit two-story homes.
• Triplex:  This blazon of condo is the aforementioned as a duplex condo, only has 3 levels instead of ii.

The terms "duplex" and "triplex" refer to the fact that these are 2 or three flooring condos, as the terms are used in New York City. In other locations, the terms "duplex" and "triplex" refer to ii and three unit buildings that stand side-by-side. Naturally, a fierce debate exists near the technical definitions, but in the current jargon, the terms are defined differently in dissimilar areas.

Some structures that appear to be townhouses (row business firm pattern) are technically condos. This is due to the fact that the owners only ain the unit, and non the shared space.

Condominium Edifice

Flat

An apartment is a group of housing units in ane building, all owned by one entity. The units are and so rented out to tenants. This is the key difference between a condo and an apartment. In a condo, individual entities (i.e. a person or corporation) ain each unit, whereas with apartments, all the units in the building are owned by one entity.

Apartment building

Co-op

A co-op is similar in physical appearance and function as a condo or flat, simply the financial and legal arrangement is quite dissimilar. In a co-op, each entity or person who buys in to the co-op doesn't ain a particular unit; instead, they own a percent of the edifice. Co-op owners are akin to shareholders of an entire property, and technically lease their unit from the co-op.

The advantage to a co-op over an flat or condo boils down to the fact that the co-op association (the co-op members) tin can prevent a prospective buyer from buying into the building by rejecting their application. That said, a co-op association can merely pass up applications on financial basis and/or an unwillingness to follow the rules set out by the clan. A condo HOA or strata cannot reject a prospective buyer if  they fit inside its rules (i.e. age restrictions).

Co-op building

Townhome

A townhome is similar to a row home in that information technology shares one or two walls with other homes. Townhomes are ordinarily two or iii stories tall, but some stand even taller. These homes are different from condos in that owners of a townhome ain both the interior and exterior of the unit of measurement, and are therefore financially responsible for maintenance of the exterior as well as the interior. With condos, the exterior of the building is maintained by the regulatory torso (the HOA or Strata Council).

A townhome is more similar a single family home, except for its attachment to another unit on either i or both sides.

Row of townhouses

See our collection of luxury townhomes hither.

Bungalow

The word "bungalow" is derived from an Indian word for small houses, stemming from "Bengali house". In fact, the bungalow was adult because the cottage style firm with thick walls didn't work in India, with its warm climate.

A bungalow is a modest, square single-story habitation with front porch. The single floor is raised, with front steps leading upwards to the porch. Often, a unmarried dormer window is congenital into the pitched roof of the attic. These types of homes began being built in the U.s. in the early on twentieth century. Bungalows are found all over the USA nowadays. These days, bungalows aren't equally mutual, given the mod penchant for larger homes. Moreover, with estimator-aided blueprint, simple designs are no longer necessary to go along costs low.

Example of a bungalow style house

Ranch-Style

A ranch-style home (AKA a rancher) is too a single-story home. However, a rancher has a larger, more than rectangular footprint than a bungalow does. The ranch home is a derivative of the broad Castilian hacienda way of home. Ranchers grew in popularity during the 1950's as huge tracts of land turned into suburbs, with larger plots than the typical urban plots. This type of house has enough of open up outdoor spaces, given that they require larger-than normal lots. Read our ranch vs. two-story houses comparing hither.

Instance of a ranch style abode

Cottage

The term cottage stems from a home ordinarily built in England. While in today's parlance it refers to a modest vacation home, historically, a cottage was a small domicile with a high thatched roof, thick walls, and a single interior room.

In an odd, ironic twist, some wealthy people refer to their vacation backdrop as "the cottage." Use of this term downplays what is truly a luxurious vacation dwelling house. For example, sometimes the spectacular Newport, RI mansions congenital by the Robber Barons are referred to as "cottages," though they in no style resemble the traditional English cottage.

Because in that location are several meanings for the term cottage, we've included three unlike photo examples of cottages:

Historic English language cottage

Celebrated English Cottage

Small vacation cottage

Quaint small lakeside vacation cottage

G Newport, Rhode Island cottage

Cabin

There is no existent consensus regarding the differences betwixt a cabin and a cottage. Although a cabin connotes a simple, rustic and minimalist artful, a cottage, in the current usage of the word, does often refer to a more upscale vacation domicile, though not historically.

Cabins are usually less finished than cottages. Cottages are painted and adorned, giving them a finished look. Additionally, cabins are almost always rural, whereas a cottage can be located in a rural or urban surface area. Some country assert a cabin, at to the lowest degree traditionally, is a log-built structure.  FYI, there are singled-out types of cabins you can pattern and build.

Small wood cabin in the forest

Chalet

The word "chalet" finds its roots in the structures that traditionally housed sheep and goat herders in Switzerland. Today, the chalet is a vacation home, commonly located in mountainous areas. Now that skiing is a globally popular sport, a chalet often refers to a vacation dwelling with access to skiing.

All the same, a chalet, technically speaking, has certain blueprint characteristics. These include a steep roof and long overhangs, designed for handling piles of snow.

Swiss chalet

Multi-family

A multi-family domicile is one that contains two or more than housing units. It's an umbrella term for a detached home with an in-police suite, or an flat building, townhouse evolution, condo building, etc.

Multi-family housing

In-law suite (aka basement suite)

Most new homes include in-law suites, and many older homes have added them. This is because a xv-year real estate bubble has increased real estate prices so dramatically that many homeowners need to rent a portion of their domicile to others in club to afford their home payments.

An in-law suite is a separate unit congenital inside a single-family home. Often it's located in the basement, but not always. An in-law suite is part of the single-family unit structure, every bit opposed to being a completely split structure. A separate structure available for rent and/or guests would fall under unlike terminology, such equally a carriage house or laneway house.

Basement suite

Barndominium

A barndominium is a barn that has been partially or fully converted into a living space. Check out the beautiful 1 we testify in a higher place! Chip and Joanna Gaines built ane (making the term famous despite the fact that these have been fabricated for many years).

Read our "what is a barndominium?" guide hither.

Carriage/Coach house

Railroad vehicle and autobus houses are the same. Historically, these are structures on a property that were built to house equus caballus-drawn carriages. Since then, many take been converted into separate living units that are rented out or are reserved for guests.

While humans no longer need such structures to house carriages, many new builds include such structures on a belongings. Carriage houses allow owners to generate additional revenue, or can be used every bit invitee accommodations. The term railroad vehicle or coach house is still widely used, even if the building was never used as a such a construction.

Carriage business firm

Tiny home

A tiny home is an exceptionally small home that may be stationary or mobile. These homes range in size from 100 to 400 sq ft. Tiny homes are incredibly efficient, both in design and layout. They are growing in popularity as people downsize and/or seek to live mortgage-free. Tiny homes price anywhere from $ten,000 to $100,000 depending on whether you built it yourself, it'south congenital for you, and the materials used to build information technology.

Tiny home interior

See our awesome collection of tiny houses here.

Mobile Home

A mobile home is a mobile structure that tin be towed, but isn't designed for frequent towing the style a recreational vehicle is. Mobile homes are built in factories, towed to a lot, and remain in place. These homes are inexpensive. Mobile abode parks exist where the mobile domicile is endemic by a person or family unit, just they rent the lot or pad where it sits. In other instances, people live in mobile homes on property they own.

Mobile home

Manufactured homes are also congenital off-site, and built on a steel frame with wheels. They are a more mod version of the mobile home. Hither's an example below:

Manufactured domicile

Interesting: Read about the history of the mobile abode hither.

Mansion

A mansion is a large, imposing home (read our in-depth assay on what a mansion is). Interestingly, there is no legal definition regarding how large a home must be in order to be chosen a mansion. Moreover, there isn't consensus within the real manor industry, either.

In 1950 the average house size was a tad under i,000 sq. ft. Today, the average business firm size is two,500 sq. ft. That's 250% growth in size for the average home in lxx years.Since the average habitation size is now 250% bigger than the average home of the 1950s, the size required for a home to exist a mansion should be proportionate.

A mansion isn't a size set in rock; instead information technology's a term to distinguish a firm from the average house – something huge and luxurious. See mega mansions here (20,000 sq. ft. or more).

Celebrated mansion

Mill Neck Manor mansion in New York

Contemporary Mansion

Contemporary mansion

McMansion

McMansion is a derogatory term for a poorly designed, big, new home. Usually these homes are congenital in large suburbs by a single developer. The private homes are a mishmash of architectural styles and features that serve no purpose and cease up looking silly or superfluous. The McMansion is not a technical proper noun nor an official blazon of home, merely it'south definitely become a mutual term in our parlance.

The best website that covers and explains McMansion, is McMansion Hell. Not only is the site funny, it's quite informative. You'll acquire a lot about architecture via the ridicule of McMansions.

Example of a McMansion

Yurt

The yurt is the primary housing structure used past the Mongols in Mongolia. Mongols are a nomadic people. Since yurts tin can be packed up and moved easily, it'due south an ideal type of home for nomadic peoples. Yurts vary in size from approximately 12 feet in diameter (115 sq. ft.) to xxx+ feet in diameter (706 sq ft or more). They are relatively cheap to build.

A yurt is a round structure with a wall and roof made from waterproof material. While traditional yurts are fairly rustic, custom-built yurts congenital with pretty much all the amenities of a regular home are also bachelor. While some in North America live in yurts yr-around, other people keep them as vacation homes.

Yurt

Floating on Water Residence (aka Floating Home or Houseboat, but there are differences)

Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and San Francisco all house various floating h2o residences. It'southward of import to note that in that location are important differences among the five types of floating on water residences.

These types of homes are built differently from their landed counterparts, have various moorage arrangements, and are highly regulated in the cities where they are located. If you're interested in such a dwelling house, information technology'due south a good thought to engage a real manor agent who has extensive experience buying and selling such homes.

Floating homes in Vancouver, BC

Tree house

Very few people cull to alive in treehouses, simply treehouse residences do exist. These are houses built in copse; some are quite large. Generally, they aren't nailed into the trees where they're located; their stilts and structure are congenital around the tree to elevate the home. Treehouses apparently look similar fun houses to live in, and they're definitely different.

See our collection of kids tree houses here.

Tree house family habitation

Castle

1 of the more than atypical types of houses, a castle a dream home for many people. There are many different types of castles. Castles were built from early middle ages through the nineteenth century. Their principal purposes were to both house and defend their residents. Over the many hundreds of years that castles were built, their designs greatly evolved.

See all castle galleries and articles here.

Lowther Castle, England

Palace

While the term palace is oft used in place of castle, a palace differs from a castle in that a palace'due south primary function is as a residence only; they weren't built to defend. Instead, palaces were luxurious structures that housed royalty and nobility, and ofttimes likewise housed government functions.

See more palaces here.

Alhambra Palace, Kingdom of spain

Chateau

A chateau is a French term that is used to describe a private palace of sorts. Chateaus are luxurious mansions that don't serve any state purpose. They are purely private residences that are too extremely chiliad.

Run into more Chateaus hither.

Chateau de Chenonceau in French republic

Villa

A villa is the Italian version of a chateau.

Villa Hanbury, Italy

Manor

A manor is the English version of a chateau.

Manor home in England

Fort

A fort is a military structure congenital to defend and house military machine personnel and their families.

Fort Clatsup, Astoria, Oregon

Hush-hush Firm

While the term "bunker" refers to some class of bomb shelter or protective shelter, some people practise live in hush-hush houses.

Undercover house

Cave

Historically, people lived in caves. This selection was a no-brainer, given caves are pretty much turn-key, in a crude mode. Caves were essentially created for humans and other animals to live in by nature. That said, while many cave houses were crude, some cultures created cities that were fabricated from huge series of cute cave homes.

Cave firm interior

Cave house exterior in Spain

Check out this example of a firm built into a cave.

Container Dwelling house

A recent development in dwelling house construction and design is the use of existing containers as the main structure of a habitation. Modest homes use one container, while larger homes use multiple containers. Equally you can encounter beneath, containers can be configured in a variety of different ways. Companies exist that specialize in designing and creating container homes.

Run across featured aircraft container homes here.

Dome/Round Houses

Geodesic dome houses and roundhouses, while not terribly popular, are some other unique blazon of home. In fact, round structures accept been used in some cultures for thousands of years – think tipis, yurts, huts, fortress towers, etc.

Click here to see a drove of dome and round houses.

Construction Method

Another types of house nomenclature is the construction method. These days buyers have several options in how homes are built.

Site-built home: Is a habitation that's congenital on-site. Most homes are built this way.

Prefab dwelling:  A prefab home is the full general term referring to a home congenital in a factory. This type of home typically arrives in pieces that have been shipped to be assembled on-site. Some arrive with the interior and/or exterior completely finished, while others crave finishing work on-site.

Modular home:  A modular abode is a blazon of prefab home that's built in a factory. The home is made of a series of modules, or pods, that are locked together to form the unabridged dwelling house in one case on-site.

Manufactured dwelling: A manufactured home is another that is built off-site in a factory on a steel frame. These homes are  transported in their entirety or in sections to a site. Manufactured homes are similar to mobile homes, but look more like a permanent domicile than the traditional mobile dwelling does.

Console home:  This is a home constructed of panels. The panels are built off-site and assembled on-site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the different types of houses.

How large is the boilerplate house in the USA?

From statistics gathered during the first quarter of 2022 by an NAHB analysis likewise every bit from the Demography Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Blueprint, the average single-family habitation has increased to around two,584 square anxiety. The boilerplate size of a house is constantly changing over time. For example, in 1983 the boilerplate business firm in the USA was i,725 square feet, and in 2003 the average was 2,330 square anxiety.

What are the different types of houses?

What defines a business firm has really branched out from what people traditionally considered to be a firm. However, at that place are two defining means of categorizing types of houses. Some define these past their different architectural styles, while others ascertain them by the dissimilar types of residential building structures. Architectural fashion refers to the aesthetic style of a house, and types of residential building structures cover whether a house was built equally a unmarried-family, a townhouse, etc.

To put it into perspective, types of houses by structure include the post-obit:

• Single Family Detached House
• Apartment
• Bungalow
• Cabin
• Carriage/Coach House
• Castle
• Cavern House
• Chalet
• Chateau
• Condominium
• Container Dwelling
• Co-Op
• Cottage
• Dome Houses
• Fort
• In-Police force Suite (also called a Basement Suite)
• Mansion
• Estate
• McMansion
• Mobile Home
• Multi-Family
• Palace
• Tiny Home
• Townhome
• TreeHouse
• Ranch-Style
• Underground Firm
• Villa
• Yurt
• Floating Water Residences (Houseboats, etc)

Tin houses exist moved?

Houses can be moved, but it is not usually an like shooting fish in a barrel or an cheap task. To move a business firm ways one must lift the structure from the foundation to move it, sometimes many miles away, before setting the abode down somewhere else. In farthermost cases where a home is in danger of flooding or another impending natural disaster, in the fashion of development of highways or shopping centers, or just considering information technology is no longer wanted on the land, houses may be moved from one location to another.

Can houses sink?

If a house is built on poor soil or somewhere in which copious amounts of water tin weaken the foundation, houses tin can indeed sink. Homeowners don't take any way of controlling the soil below their home, but they can deflect h2o abroad from the foundation equally much as possible to foreclose this from happening.

Can houses be financed? If and then, how?

If y'all do not have the cash in hand to purchase a firm, they can be financed past manner of a mortgage. Mortgages are secured loans handled betwixt the home purchaser and a financial institution (usually a bank or credit spousal relationship) which loans the money to purchase a firm to the buyer. One time the toll range has been decided, one must apply for a mortgage. However, information technology is best to have a credit score of over 600 before trying to apply for a mortgage, and to only borrow what is necessary to prevent paying back more than what is affordable.

What materials are houses built from?

Homes can be constructed from a list of materials. Some of the almost common ones are wood, brick, concrete, cement & mortar, and clay. Many houses are also now constructed with steel frames that are reinforced with bolts and rivets.

Can houses get hit by lightning?

Houses can be struck by lightning, with the roof taking a major hit, sometimes sending a charge of electricity through any electrical devices and fifty-fifty metal pipage within the firm. Lightning is attracted to anything metal, electrical, and sometimes fifty-fifty window frames and gutters. Occupants within a home can exist affected by lightning if they are in contact with an electrical device or plumbing.

Can houses lose value?

A house tin deteriorate in value because of a few dissimilar factors. This includes concrete damage and/or fail, the neighborhood where the business firm stands, the risk a homeowner could take ownership that firm, and the economical climate.

Can houses withstand an earthquake?

Because every house is unique, withstanding an earthquake depends on the time in which a home was built, the materials it is made from, and the structure of the business firm. Virtually houses built afterward 1958 are more secure than older homes due to increased anchoring and bolting, but this isn't a hard and fast rule. The virtually likely houses to withstand an earthquake are those with a physical foundation. However, older houses without physical foundations tin can accept braces, such as new beams and bolts, installed underneath the house to better ballast it to the basis.

Who appraises houses?

Houses are appraised by licensed, highly-trained professionals who know what to await for during the appraisement process. Many appraisers railroad train and spend years on the chore. They are continuously educated on the ever-irresolute housing marketplace. It is the appraiser'due south chore to adequately and objectively determine the value of a house without any sort of bias equally to where the property is located. Appraisers have to prove that anything in or exterior of the house that they find could affect its value. Appraisers and the appraisal procedure are heavily monitored.

Can squirrels climb houses?

Squirrels have an incredible knack for being able to climb simply nearly annihilation, and this definitely includes homes. They tin scale chimneys and walls headfirst and are motivated to practice this because they admittedly dear to alive within walls, ceilings, and attics.

Can raccoons climb houses?

Like squirrels, raccoons are amazing climbers, and there aren't many places that they won't try to go to find food or shelter. This said, raccoons can climb upwardly the corners of a house with ease and make expert utilize of whatsoever gutters and downspouts they can notice. Raccoons are capable of causing a lot of harm when they do this, so it's best to exist aware of them.

Can possums climb houses?

Possums can climb quite well and will climb a business firm, and even if they cannot calibration a structure they tin can climb a tree to get upward onto and into that structure if they can find an opening large plenty to make it through.

Can tornadoes lift houses?

Brick and physical homes are a chip more stable when facing the dangerous winds of a tornado. However, tornadoes of certain categories certainly take the power to lift any house from its foundation and send information technology spiraling, sometimes miles away. Mobile homes are especially prone to this, since more oft than not mobile homes do not have a permanent foundation. Even if a tornado doesn't elevator a house, it can cause a lot of damage to it, and even perhaps level the firm to the ground.

Pinterest Version

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