The Strange Allure of Tiny Homes—Explained

By Yuqing Pan
Nov 9, 2015

When Elaine Walker’s three kids went to college, she decided to downsize—and we’re not just talking about throwing out the old Nintendo Wii and donating the living room love seat. We’re talking downsizing. She cast off (or stored) virtually all of her belongings, moved into a 120-square-foot house on wheels, and traveled all the way from New Hampshire to California.

Walker’s purge gave her purpose. “Everything now is right within reach,” she says. “You always know where all of your things are. You don’t have to go digging in the closet or wondering if there’s something under the bed.”

From retirees to college grads (to HGTV addicts, who binge on no fewer than three tiny-home series), tiny homes seem to have limitless appeal these days. The oh-so-seductive idea: Shrinking square footage not only cuts down on chores and energy consumption, as Walker says, it also changes your life outlook.

So if you’re still wondering what the tiny-home craze is all about, let us explain it to you, in these five infographics.

First let’s start with the basics: Just how minuscule is a tiny house, really?

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So is everyone going small? Quick answer: No! In fact, overall, the size of American homes has climbed drastically. The average new home hit 2,600 square feet in 2013, an all-time high that surpassed even the housing bubble years, according to CNN. Still, our data show that most consumers are looking for something more modest. Homes between 1,000 and 2,000 square feet get the most views on realtor.com®, about 50% more than 2,000- to 3,000-square-foot homes—and the gap is increasing, judging from data in the past two years.

So how do we really gauge the interest in the tiniest of homes? We turned to Google Trends for its fascinating insights.

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What triggers such exponential growth in public interest about teeny-weeny homes? Aside from the whole “urge to purge” fantasy, affordability and environmental friendliness, mostly.

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Until recently, there were only a handful of tiny-house communities across the country. But just this year, more than 30 microcommunities—established or under development—sprouted up across the country, according to Tiny House Community.

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Surprisingly, tiny houses are not as cheap as most think. If you look at price per square foot, homes with fewer than 500 square feet are actually the most expensive on the market. For bargain hunters, 500 to 1,000 square feet is your sweet spot. That’s because every house comes with a fixed cost, including basic structure and high-ticket items such as the heating system. As a house gets bigger, the incremental cost for these pricey items lessens.

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“It’s getting a little bit discouraging how expensive tiny houses are now,” Walker says.

The average cost of constructing your own tiny house is $25,000 in material, according to The Tiny Life. It’s a different story when you buy one from a builder. Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. priced its 117-square-foot “Elm” model at $57,000, which is $487 per square foot. Canoe Bay’s “Escape” 400-square-foot model can approach $124,000 ($310 per square foot), depending on the options chosen.

Tiny houses have also grown fancier. Sometimes way fancier. “I hear people say they want a tiny house, but they also want a bathtub, a washer or dryer—where are you going to put these things?” Walker jokes.