The Rowhouse Returns

"First-time buyers David and Jennifer Waxberg considered a single-family house. After shopping different new-home developments and various housing styles, though, they bought a rowhouse at The Plaza on New York in Aurora for three reasons, says David.

"One, it's a new house with an attached garage, but at a better price than most single-family houses. Two, it's low-maintenance and I am not handy. Three, no yardwork!" says David of the 1,900-square-foot, three-bedroom rowhouse they will move into later this month. A condominium was out of the question, says David, because as renters they are tired of sharing walls and ceilings with neighbors and "hearing their babies cry and doors slam," he says.

Despite the real estate tsunami, rowhouse sales are staying afloat. Wiseman-Hughes, the Waxbergs' builder, has sold 89 of its 154 Plaza rowhouses."