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12 Valid Reasons Retirees Should Consider a Townhouse

Downsize your home (and your maintenance).

By Heather Bien

Edited by Laura Ratliff

Updated April 4, 2025

Townhomes are often targeted towards young couples just starting out. They're seen as a stepping stone before buying that big house in the suburbs. But they can also be a stepping stone away from that big house in the suburbs.

Retirees looking for an affordable way to downsize without moving into a retirement community often find that townhouses offer lower costs to maximize retirement savings, lower maintenance, and ideal locations.

Here are 12 good reasons retirees should consider a townhouse, particularly if they're looking for comfort and convenience without spending their weekends on maintenance and upkeep.

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Lower maintenance

Even if your townhome has a yard (and you may want a small yard for a garden), that space is typically smaller than the yard with a single-family home. You'll have fewer responsibilities, mainly if your community covers landscaping and lawn care. Imagine never having to shovel snow again.

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Affordability

Townhomes are typically more affordable than single-family homes, so you'll get more for your money in the same location. Depending on the community, you may have to pay an HOA, but it all shakes out when you consider townhomes are typically priced 12% lower than single-family homes.

Prime locations

If you want an ideal location with walkability into desirable urban centers, access to shopping or entertainment districts, or proximity to walking trails, townhouses are a great way to get that convenience without the detached home price tag. Townhomes are often built in denser areas, where you can get everything you need within a stone's throw.

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Space and privacy

Often, the alternative to downsizing to a townhome is moving into an apartment or a retirement community. The lack of square footage in an apartment can come as a shock for someone who is used to living in a single-family home. Downsizing to a townhome feels like a more approachable step. Plus, you have more privacy than you would with neighbors in an apartment building.

Smaller size

The point of downsizing is to make life easier. That means dealing with less square footage to clean, furnish, repair, and maintain. Do you actually need four bedrooms? Or would two cover it? How about a formal living room? Consider your day-to-day needs, and buy a townhouse that fits those accordingly.

Access to greenspaces

Townhome communities often invest in creating park-like settings with grass, greenspaces, trees, landscaping, and even ponds. These can be idyllic places to live, particularly if you make an effort to walk outside every day.

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Proximity to friends

Whether you encourage your friends to move to the same community or put yourself out there and meet your new neighbors, the close-knit nature of a townhome community is ideal for retirees. Social ties are critical in older age, and townhouse living makes it easy to maintain those relationships.

Outsourcing exterior repairs

Major exterior repairs, like a new roof or repaving a driveway, are the kinds of repairs that can derail a year. They're expensive and troublesome to schedule. In a townhouse community, these repairs often fall under the HOA's responsibilities, meaning it's one less thing you have to worry about.

Forced decluttering

Most of us wish we had less stuff. By moving into a smaller townhome, you'll force yourself to declutter. And the less stuff you're surrounded by, the less stressed you'll be. Isn't that how we should all feel in retirement?

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Updated living

While it's not universal, many townhome communities include new-build homes with the most updated finishes. This is your chance to get a sparkling new space without a sky-high price tag.

Community amenities

If you're looking for the ultimate convenience, townhome communities offer you everything at your fingertips. Look for homes with amenities like a fitness center, pool, walking trails, clubhouse, community store, and even activities, workout classes, and social events.

Not worrying about leaving

Part of the beauty of retirement is finally getting to all the travel you put off. You can visit the grandkids for a month or head to Florida for the winter. And, when you live in a townhouse, you don't need to worry that your house will fall apart while you're gone. The HOA is there to make sure the exterior is taken care of.

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Bottom line

Downsizing is typically a savvy homeowner money move for retirees, and it's even more so when you consider the ease and convenience of a townhome or other residence where you're not on the hook for the same level of maintenance as a single-family home.

Carefully weigh the pros and cons of townhome living, but know it can be a strategic money-saving move for retirees.

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