It is strange to think that those with means would be willing, much less want, to live in a house that is only a few hundred square feet large.
But the number of people in the Tiny House community, the group of people who live in houses under 500 square feet, is growing significantly. The community is not limited to those who are struggling financially or those who live alone. Everyone from college grads to retirees can see the allure of living in a tiny home.
In fact, one could go as far as saying that tiny is the new big.
There are a few reasons that tiny homes are so alluring. These reasons are as varied as those who build these houses.
For college grads, living in a tiny house allows them to take control of their financial futures. Many grads have mountains of debt and few job prospects. This does not make it easy to pay off debt, pay bills and make the rising rent prices in the nation’s most popular living spaces.
A tiny home is a great alternative for young people. This is partly because they have not had the time, money or desire to accumulate all the stuff that people buy big homes to keep, such as a cell signal booster for those living in areas with poor reception.
A tiny home also gives young people the chance at home ownership. In fact, 78% of tiny home dwellers own their own homes. 68% of these residents do not even have a mortgage. This is because the average cost of building a tiny house is around $25,000.
But tiny houses have evolved. These dwellings are not just a place for college students to escape growing rent prices. Tiny houses are now a place for adults and retirees to shed their worries, and their things, and simplify their lives.
Some people report that shedding all their belongings is liberating. They enjoy the feeling of having only the things that are most essential to their daily lives. This means that there are fewer things to search for and fewer things to lose.
Tiny homes also have the added benefit of being easier to clean. A home that is only 400 square feet in size is much easier to clean that that which is 2,600 square feet in size.
For those who are trying to simplify but still want to live in a comfortable home, the tiny home market is now seeing plenty of clever updates. As a friendlier alternative to doing your laundry in your sink, tiny home builders are now offering the chance to create a smart home.
Intel has recently worked on developing a tiny smart house. The house offers more security measures. It also offers the ability to control all the appliances through a tablet.
Similarly, Tiny Heirloom Homes has produced a model home for $75,000. This base-model offers customer the chance to have all the comforts of home in a smaller package. The home includes granite surfaces, high-end floors, stainless steel appliances, a washer and dryer and a composting toilet. It will even through in the shipping and legal costs.
Although these homes are certainly not the budget homes that the $25,000 homes are, it is still significantly more cost effective than purchasing a new traditional home. It is even cheaper than renting a small home in many areas.
At the moment, even the housing costs in Detroit and Pittsburgh are still sitting at twice the area’s median income. This looks cheap compared places like San Francisco, where home costs are nine times the median income. However, it is still more than people can and want to afford. The tiny home is a solution to this problem because a home can be purchased outright for less than the average family house hold income.
Tiny housing also solves another problem. Robert Shiller, a Nobel-Prize winning economist suggested that despite the housing crisis, young people will still demand housing in places where it is hard to build. Millennials prefer to live in places where homes are not affordable and there are few places to build housing. The tiny housing allows people to live in the parking lot at their company’s headquarters if they want to.
In a market where housing affordability is continuing to decline, despite the decrease in price increases, the tiny house movement offers both financial and personal freedom. If they are willing to scale down, millennials and their parents have the opportunity to build the home they want and take it where they want.
This is the inherent value of the tiny home. This a world where people expect to be able to work on the go. The rapidly evolving tiny house offers many practical and adorable solutions to today’s biggest real estate and financial problems.
