Increasing Popularity of Tiny Homes

David777 said:
As someone that has never owned a home and doesn't have enough in the bank for expensive California homes, I've been watching the tiny home debate for a few years. Whenever these news articles appear, they are flooded with negative biased comments by large home builders and those workers that build them since such is an immense industry, highly involved with Wall Street and banking.

An industry that has for years been the worst facet of crushing USA inflation, especially here in California. And an industry with their puppet local urban politicians that tends to monkeywrench any attempt at lowering costs. A common manipulative biased criticism is they are too small. But then many young adults, low income people, and poor live in small studio apartments, mobile homes, or over crowd with many occupants in single residences.

What’s The Tiny House Movement? Why The Fuss Over Tiny Homes? | Tiny Living Life

According to the US Census Bureau, the average size of a home in 1973 was 1,660 square feet. By 2015 average home size had increased to 2,687. Yet during the same time frame, average family size went from 3.0 persons down to 2.5 persons. What does that tell us?

Today’s society is busy accumulating stuff. Consequently, marketing experts have capitalized on “bigger is better.” Go into any fast food restaurant and you can see the results. Everywhere we go we are encouraged to buy, buy, buy. So how do we combat that commercial mentality? Thankfully, one movement is doing just that…

Tiny home statistics:

Top 35 Tiny Home Statistics and Facts of 2024 - Today's Homeowner

Tiny House Statistics: Market & Trends (2023)

3-D printed tiny home:

Startup CEO says ‘the house of the future costs as much as a car’ — here’s how the company plans to make it happen
Click to expand...
Young adults in America are not chasing the "American Dream" of buying a large home and all the bells and whistles associated with them. The majority of them prefer small, convenient spaces and optimal functionality.

The companies that are currently cashing in on the smaller, more convenient homes with an emphasis on functionality that young Americans want are mobile and pre-fab home manufacturers in the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, America's major real estate and construction companies are buying up as many properties as they can, including mobile home parks and foreclosed homes, hoping to make consistent annual profits over the decades to come. But it's a gamble right now because most young Americans just aren't interested in McMansions and ranchettes and "must-have" swimming pools.
 

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I enjoy looking at tiny homes but I like stuff so I need more space. I must confess though our living area got smaller when our son moved in with us. Our son's space also got smaller as he is putting his place up for sale. So far it has been OK, kinda miss the 2 bathrooms but we are managing. He is also very helpful, but that is why he moved in with us.
 
When I was married we bought a motorhome that had 167 sq ft. It had a separate bedroom. The people we bought it from traveled for a year in it. Initially I thought we would do the same but a month was all I could stand of 2 people, one big dog and 3 small ones in that small of space. So once a year we would travel for a month.
 

We lived for up to five months at a time in a less-than-300-feet fifth wheel trailer for 10 years. I loved it! A place for everything and everything in its place. Everything was made for getting from point A to point B.

I always got a big kick out of those tiny-home TV shows. The buyers would always insist that they were going to take the tiny home "traveling". Uh, no. The vast majority of those tiny homes shouldn't go "traveling" per se. They're not made for traveling. They're made to be towed down the road for a while and then set up.

All that open shelving would have to be emptied every time you moved. That beautiful tile on the backsplash over the sink.? It would start popping off the third time you moved the home. You'd have to find a way to anchor the residential-style refrigerator and the stove or it'd be laying down on the floor. And so on and so on.

Wanna move a lot? Get an RV. They're made for twisting and bouncing.
 
David777 said:
As someone that has never owned a home and doesn't have enough in the bank for expensive California homes, I've been watching the tiny home debate for a few years. Whenever these news articles appear, they are flooded with negative biased comments by large home builders and those workers that build them since such is an immense industry, highly involved with Wall Street and banking.

An industry that has for years been the worst facet of crushing USA inflation, especially here in California. And an industry with their puppet local urban politicians that tends to monkeywrench any attempt at lowering costs. A common manipulative biased criticism is they are too small. But then many young adults, low income people, and poor live in small studio apartments, mobile homes, or over crowd with many occupants in single residences.

What’s The Tiny House Movement? Why The Fuss Over Tiny Homes? | Tiny Living Life

According to the US Census Bureau, the average size of a home in 1973 was 1,660 square feet. By 2015 average home size had increased to 2,687. Yet during the same time frame, average family size went from 3.0 persons down to 2.5 persons. What does that tell us?

Today’s society is busy accumulating stuff. Consequently, marketing experts have capitalized on “bigger is better.” Go into any fast food restaurant and you can see the results. Everywhere we go we are encouraged to buy, buy, buy. So how do we combat that commercial mentality? Thankfully, one movement is doing just that…

Tiny home statistics:

Top 35 Tiny Home Statistics and Facts of 2024 - Today's Homeowner

Tiny House Statistics: Market & Trends (2023)

3-D printed tiny home:

Startup CEO says ‘the house of the future costs as much as a car’ — here’s how the company plans to make it happen
Click to expand...
As a retiree, I'd choose a tiny home over rent or a mortgage. Marketing people would have you believe tiny homes are trendy and cool. The fact is, it's all many people can afford these days.
 
I was wondering if tiny homes have become more popular now. It seems so.

They are 225 sg ft. which is 10 times smaller than the average house. and aprox $67,000 which is 87% cheaper than the typical house.
The growth rate from 2021 to 1026 is 4.45% or $3.57 billion.
some of the trends include...
Space-saving furniture is crucial in tiny homes.
Even tiny homes embrace technology for convenience.
Eco-conscious designs are on the rise.
Flexibility matters in small spaces.

This sounds really good for an alternative to owning a house!!
 
Paco Dennis said:
I was wondering if tiny homes have become more popular now. It seems so.

They are 225 sg ft. which is 10 times smaller than the average house. and aprox $67,000 which is 87% cheaper than the typical house.
The growth rate from 2021 to 1026 is 4.45% or $3.57 billion.
some of the trends include...
Space-saving furniture is crucial in tiny homes.
Even tiny homes embrace technology for convenience.
Eco-conscious designs are on the rise.
Flexibility matters in small spaces.

This sounds really good for an alternative to owning a house!!
Click to expand...
I've seen shows on which people built their own tiny homes or container homes and spend as little as $14,000. Some are fortunate to be living on acres of land on close family members' properties, so no worries about paying for land or being kicked off land if zoning laws catch up to them or change. The builders and designers of these tiny homes do an amazing job of incorporating space saving furniture, adding unexpected storage areas and even making the tiny home look much bigger than it actually is. There are even luxury tiny home companies.

@Rich You are right that it's often very much about economics. Tiny homes can be beneficial for the financial stability of young couples as well. I wouldn't recommend putting one in tornado alley though.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I was wondering if tiny homes have become more popular now. It seems so.

They are 225 sg ft. which is 10 times smaller than the average house. and aprox $67,000 which is 87% cheaper than the typical house.
The growth rate from 2021 to 1026 is 4.45% or $3.57 billion.
some of the trends include...
Space-saving furniture is crucial in tiny homes.
Even tiny homes embrace technology for convenience.
Eco-conscious designs are on the rise.
Flexibility matters in small spaces.

This sounds really good for an alternative to owning a house!!
Click to expand...
In some states there's been new, strict regulations about where you can put your tiny home, whether you own the property or not, but worse than that, it's nearly impossible to insure them, especially if they're stationary. (as opposed to on wheels)
 
Murrmurr said:
In some states there's been new, strict regulations about where you can put your tiny home, whether you own the property or not, but worse than that, it's nearly impossible to insure them, especially if they're stationary. (as opposed to on wheels)
Click to expand...
I would think it would be easier to insure one that's stationary. :unsure: I've read articles about the pitfalls of owning tiny homes even though there are obvious benefits. Those interested really have to do their due diligence and research all angles.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I would think it would be easier to insure one that's stationary. :unsure: I've read articles about the pitfalls of owning tiny homes even though there are obvious benefits. Those interested really have to do their due diligence and research all angles.
Click to expand...
Thinking about it, it may vary from state to state. But in Calif, insurance companies just aren't willing to offer home-owner policies for the stationary tiny houses, and you have to meet a slew of requirements if they're on wheels.
 
Well, I may have a different opinion.
Because of this record inflationary period.
The powers that be are trying to convince us, as well of the price of rents.
Our only options are living in a tough shed, somewhere.
 
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We have thought of Merry Maid a couple of times a month.
Probably too much stuff explains why not.
To be Frank, we sort of depend on each other's privacy.

We have those at many spots at our lake instead of Campers. Permanent tiny homes with a lake view.
Railings have to be on stairways. The pain, oh the pain!
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
I became interested in the tiny house movement via HGTV @seadoug. I've watched several episodes of the different versions of tiny home living that are produced for the network now. I've seen some amazing ones where the furniture and even the stairs have dual functions. There are luxury tiny home designers and builders who do a fabulous job with functionality and decor. I've seen tiny homes on wheels. ones with porches and some with other unique features.

Though not for me (where would I put all my clothes and supplies?), I think it's a cool option for those who don't mind living the minimalist lifestyle and don't want to be saddled with a mortgage. The only (possible) cons that I've read about before are:
"If you don’t already have a place to put your tiny home, you'll have to buy land or lease a lot. If you put your home on vacant land, you’ll need to factor in the cost of getting utilities to your property. And, depending on where you live, if your tiny home is on a foundation, you may have to pay property taxes.
Owners of tiny homes on wheels don't have to pay property taxes on the house. But you can’t put your tiny house on wheels just anywhere. Because of zoning laws, you'll have to pay for a place to park it, and depending on where that is, real estate taxes could apply."
What to Know About Buying a Tiny House - NerdWallet

I've seen stories about people who bought or built tiny homes and found out that due to zoning laws they couldn't leave their houses where they stood.
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We know someone who built her own tiny home out of a metal gabage box. She didn’t want to pay land taxes on it so didn’t register her home, nor did she quality for electricity or a well. Something happened to her though. She may have had heat stroke in the very hot weather we had a few weeks back. We haven’t seen her or her car in all that time.
We certainly didn’t rat her out.
 
Both of us grew up in large older homes that our parents remodeled as they lived in them.
Had to help with parts of their rebuilds.

Our first home was a small 40 some foot mobile home.
We parked across the driveway from our parents.

After our son, first born we hooked a jeep to it & moved couple miles away from my parents.
By the time son number 2 came we,soon got a lager, nicer mobile home.

Finally we bought this old house & set about remodeling it.

It had been partially trashed,, so lot of clean up to house & over grown yard.

We both had a rough ideas what we wanted & set about getting it done.
When the time comes that nether of us can go upstairs,, will move bed down stairs to the living room.
This room will be the living room/ office..

IF something would destroy this house before that stage of our life.
Would consider a tiny home build all one level, no loft.
 
Murrmurr said:
Young adults in America are not chasing the "American Dream" of buying a large home and all the bells and whistles associated with them. The majority of them prefer small, convenient spaces and optimal functionality.

The companies that are currently cashing in on the smaller, more convenient homes with an emphasis on functionality that young Americans want are mobile and pre-fab home manufacturers in the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, America's major real estate and construction companies are buying up as many properties as they can, including mobile home parks and foreclosed homes, hoping to make consistent annual profits over the decades to come. But it's a gamble right now because most young Americans just aren't interested in McMansions and ranchettes and "must-have" swimming pools.
Click to expand...
The 55+ mobile home park in my town that has hit the news due to new owners raising the rents has a number of older places for sale. And no one is buying. I don't know if these people have shot themselves in the foot or what.

The park my stepfather lives in, several old places have been hauled out. Makes room for a new place but they don't seem to allow people to find a new home and have it put in the park. The park is putting places in but the sale prices they are charging are out of hand. The one they have right now is not selling.
 
C50 said:
My son and his wife are visiting Holland right now and this is where they're staying. Not quite a fully applianced tiny house but my son said he could live in it. Very unique for sure. View attachment 355508
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I like the arched stair stringers.

Not sure I could live in that, but I guess it's shelter for somebody. I've been in the Netherlands, and found it an interesting society.
 
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