To many a foreigner visiting Moscow for the first time, the Russian capital often resembles an overcrowded pulsating beehive whose quick pace occasionally makes the observer feel uneasy. That is, if you're not coming from another beehive like Tokyo or New York, for instance. Sightseers hailing from quieter, less busy spots on the globe, though, at times feel uncomfortable after being immersed in the din and buzz of central Moscow.

And it's not only the casual visitor who'd like to take a stroll or have a cup of coffee in a more serene setting, far from the honking cars and endless traffic jams, from the glass and concrete of Moscow's mushrooming office buildings, from the bustling shopping malls and packed cafes... Many Muscovites, too, would gladly trade their dwellings in the urban jungle for someplace nice and quiet. And many do, as the recent trend in the real estate market suggests.

In the search for a sound compromise offering both the calm of suburbia and quick links to their workplaces, many city residents have opted for townhouse property, which aims to combine both.

One of the youngest real estate markets in Russia (the first projects outside Moscow were launched in 1995), townhouse property has won fans here rather quickly. It is a specific market niche, which feeds on exorbitant residential property rates in Moscow itself, thus pushing residents out of town. However, this is not the only reason why a growing number of Muscovites consider moving to townhouses.

"Average buyers are often younger families, who have or plan to have children and cannot afford a larger apartment in the city, children, moving out of the parents' home, non-Muscovites," says EVANS managing partner Anya Levitov.

"In most cases the townhouse buyers are either first time property buyers or those trading up low quality panel housing for a townhouse."

MIEL-Suburban Real Estate deputy director Vladimir Yakhontov paints his own portrait of average townhouse buyers.

"In general, these are the representatives of the upper middle class, aged 30 to 50 as a rule," he says. They have families, children, and lead an active way of life".

According to Yakhontov, the majority of people buying townhouses already own a Moscow apartment and a countryhouse outside the capital, but prefer to live in a townhouse neighborhood.

Blackwood executive director Maria Litinetskaya believes the townhouse market customer pool is drawn from middle-class buyers who want to merge the comfort of a city apartment with the advantages of a suburban home.

"Demand is generated by developers, who find this type of construction lucrative, as well as by the fashionable trend of living out of town," she told The Moscow News.

The experts we polled agree that living in a townhouse offers many advantages, which ultimately outweigh shortcomings.

In Levitov's opinion, pros include size as townhouses are generally larger than apartments offered at the same price, access to a land plot (however small it might be) and very few neighbors.

"A townhouse is basically a version of an own house," she says. The negatives include higher maintenance and management costs and disadvantages caused by location.

"It is an owner's responsibility to fix a leaking roof or replace a broken water heater. Location is another issue: most townhouses are located outside the city or on the outskirts of Moscow, where infrastructure is less developed, schools are of lower quality, etc.," explains Levitov.

A variety of locations, though, can be considered an advantage, Litinetskaya notes. According to her, clients can choose between townhouses located within city limits (built in peripheral districts near park zones or water reservoirs) or outside Moscow. "In both cases, favorable environmental conditions remain the major advantage. Also, townhouses offer optimal value for money: these neighborhoods have all necessary utility connections, their own security, and access roads, and all that comes at a price of a small Moscow apartment," Litinetskaya says.

To these evident advantages MIEL's Yakhontov adds a few - a small number of apartments and very few shared walls, which greatly reduces the problem of sound insulation; the possibility of free interior planning (something most Muscovites can afford only after clearing numerous bureaucratic hurdles); no parking space problems.

Experts also agree that one of the major drawbacks is the fairly limited size of land plots adjoining the homes. This seems to be an issue having to do more with the homeowners' stereotyped perception of a suburban home than the actual plot size. Some clients mistakenly perceive townhouses as a subtype of countryside cottage homes that usually feature larger plots and offer their owners a different spatial perspective.

"We should note, though, that the shortfall [of having a townhouse that sits on a small-size land plot] is rather conditional: the small plot size is compensated through a well-developed zone for common use that features roads, access to each home, walking and sports zones, children's playgrounds, etc.," Yakhontov says.

Such zones are especially attractive to residents who prefer staying out of the urban jungle, yet enjoy living life to the full. Looking for one such example, Litinetskaya cites the Petrovo-Dalnee townhouse village, located 15 kilometers northwest of Moscow, right at the confluence of the Istra and Moscow Rivers.

Here, the residents of 270 homes take advantage of the well-developed infrastructure, which includes two schools, two kindergartens, a shopping center, a stadium, and their own security service.

There is more to Petrovo-Dalnee, though, as the nearby rest house of the same name also has a lot to offer to townhouse owners and their families. The facilities include a modern sport complex featuring a tennis court, a gym, a fitness room, a swimming pool, a Russian bath, a beauty parlor, a café, a restaurant and a store. One can also take equestrian lessons or play football on a supermodern football stadium.

A similar example of high level of residential autonomy owing to well-developed infrastructure is the upscale Pokrovskoye-Glebovo townhouse complex, located on the premises of Moscow's Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo park.

"In the area there are underground parking lots, a two-operator car wash, a car repair facility. The complex also has stores, restaurants, kindergartens, sports and recreation center, a business center, tennis courts. On the bank of the Khimkinskoye water reservoir there is a yacht club, a boat station and a beach," says Litinet­skaya.

A doubtless advantage of this complex is the proximity to the Anglo-American School, she adds.

When deciding on the purchase of a townhouse most buyers are still swayed by relatively moderate rates, which do differ from the Moscow prices. Back in 1995 when this market was just budding, a square meter of townhouse property cost $600. Today, it sells for several times that figure, but is a good investment nonetheless. The price is affected by the overall situation on the real estate market, as well as by the transport situation in particular as most townhouses require long commutes outside the city center, suggests Levitov.

"Right now, most townhouses of around 200 square meters are priced at nearly $600,000 (for instance, in Kurkino). It makes the sale of such properties hard. It's too expensive for the truly budget buyers, while the properties are not attractive for the higher segment buyers," says Levitov.

"All property priced below $400,000 is very popular and sells quickly, as does higher quality property at better locations, starting from $1.5 million. The middle market presents the most challenging segment. Most likely within one year we will see how this segment develops. If mortgage lending becomes more affordable, the prices most likely will remain stable or will continue to grow. If not, they might go down to truly "budget" levels of $450,000 and lower."