アパートは多少遠くても、安い方がいい。


I don't understand "安い方" here (especially "方")

I think it means something like "Even if the flat is somewhat far it's good
that it's cheap" but it would be "アパートは多少遠くても、安いがいい。"




In this case, 方 is used to compare 2 options.  
The 2 options are assumed to be "expensive" and "cheap".  
So it basically emphasize that cheap is the better option.




方 is used when something is compared with another thing. In such contexts it's
read as ほう. 方 is not always required to make a comparison in Japanese, but if
you are a beginner, you should start from basic sentences using ほう.

  * [Japanese Grammar: Making Comparisons in Japanese](http://www.punipunijapan.com/yori-hou-ga/)
  * [Japanese/Grammar/Comparisons](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese/Grammar/Comparisons)
  * [Use of 方 in sentence (かた or ほう?) + translation](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/42334/5010)

安いがいい is ungrammatical because an adjective cannot be the subject of a
sentence unless it's turned into a noun in some way. (For example, you can say
"Being beautiful is good", but not "Beautiful is good.") Luckily, 方 works as a
noun, and `adjective + 方` simply means "～er one(s)".

> アパートは多少遠くても、安い方がいい。  
>  (lit.) As for apartments, cheaper ones are better even if they're a bit
> far.  
>  I prefer cheaper apartments even if they're a bit far (from my office,
> etc).

