1. Convenience of location = a. less travel time. I don't want to spend my life stuck in traffic. I don't want to own a car. In this day and age, Uber and taxi's should be all you need ; b. other conveniences - e.g. generally better security, significantly less upkeep, and other time savings - e.g. run out of toilet paper? Just go downstairs to Ministop. ; c. Convenience of amenities = I can live in a place with a pool and gym, with pretty much zero upkeep or space investment needed on my part. Try doing that in a H&L.
2. Price. Condo's are generally cheaper vs houses in the same area. People make the mistake of comparing prices of a e.g. a Makati condo vs a house in Las Pinas. Doesn't make much sense to me. For someone living and working in Makati for example, if you walk to work, you pretty much don't need a car, and don't need to pay for a parking space. If you need to go somewhere, just get an Uber or a taxi, and if you need to go out of town, just hire a car and driver. Much more convenient, with zero upkeep required, and minimal cost (time and money) vs owning a car.
3. Smaller size. Yes, this is a pro for me. I don't feel the need for a big house. Large size = more upkeep and a tendency to accumulate useless stuff. I'd rather live in a smaller place, and have a better quality of life and own less stuff, but better stuff. I don't believe that kids will necessarily benefit from larger spaces either. I'd rather live in a smaller space with my family, and spend and extra hour or two with them each day, instead of living in a house with a large backyard, yet I hardly get to see them all because I couldn't be home in 15 minutes or less.
To me, the biggest downside of condo-living is the possibility of living in close quarters with shitty neighbors. Fortunately, we've been lucky so far. But other than that, there aren't really any other major downsides to condo living for me, vs a house.
As far as appreciation/depreciation, if it's meant as my primary residence, I don't view it as an investment. I look at it relative to the quality of life it is able to give me, that's how I determine value. If viewing something as an investment vehicle, i.e. rental property, that's a whole different thing. You should not confuse the two, otherwise, you may end up making a costly mistake. Remember, investments are purely about numbers. While your primary residence includes other non-monetary factors - such as what it does to your quality of life. e.g. I would buy condo's that I would never ever even think of living in, if it is a good investment. Don't make the mistake of confusing the two.
