15 Dec The Tiny House Trend….

What is a tiny house?  A tiny house is a home that is typically 100 to 400 square feet in size.  The average American home is 2,200 square feet.   These homes come in all shapes, sizes and styles and are selling at an alarming rate.

What is the appeal of a tiny house?   There are many pros to owning a tiny house.  One is the mortgage.  Most tiny home owners have a very small mortgage or no mortgage at all.  The average cost of a tiny home is $200-$400 per square foot, on average around $25,000-$35,000 completed.  Tiny home owners  like the idea of a $35,000 mortgage as opposed to a $150,000 mortgage.   Along with a smaller home, come smaller utility bills, which is an added pro.  People also buy tiny houses to lessen their carbon foot print and most tiny houses can easily be moved from one location to another. 

Who buys tiny homes?  While the tiny home trend is fairly new, it appears that younger millennials with a lot of college debt and baby boomers who are retiring are the number one fans of tiny houses.  Tiny homes don’t typically work for your average family.  Can you imagine living in a 400 square foot home with a family of four?  Talk about tight living quarters.  Honestly, I am not sure I could live in a 400 square foot home with another adult, let alone a family of four! 

At any rate, tiny homes seem to be the latest real estate trend in the United States.   Kansas City is even considering a tiny home development in their City.  Only time will tell if this real estate trend sticks.  While it sounds like a pretty sound investment,  and who wouldn’t love a small mortgage or no mortgage at all, it will be interesting to see how these millennials adapt to a tiny home once they start families and if other major cities start tiny home developments, further growing the trend.