Tiny homes have been in existence since the first historic house was built, but since 2014 there has been a 68% rise of tiny houses increasing in the U.S. with a similar pattern trending throughout the western world.
If houses were typically built smaller in the past mainly due to income levels, and if the majority are not getting any poorer, why then such a rise in tiny homes?
As this article dives into the world of tiny homes, it displays with the evidence of worldwide statistics why this market is growing so significantly. We hope you will see its potential and become inspired by the drive which has pushed this market forward to where it is today.
What Are Tiny Homes & Why Do People Build Them?
Tiny homes are exactly what their name suggests; a house that is much smaller than an ordinary house. They are cleverly designed spaces often found on trailers anywhere from one to three stories high and are created affordably with spatial and environmental awareness.
They come in many varieties, and each tiny home owner has their own reasons for living in them, but they usually have at least one of these three driving factors.
Affordable
Firstly, they are an affordable way to have your own home. Tiny homes often don’t require having a piece of land, and there are fewer permits needed to build them. 68% of tiny house owners don’t have any mortgage and 70% of those who do, pay off their mortgage within the first year.
They are not only affordable to build, but their costs are much less once you’re in them, and many people ensure theirs are self-sustaining or are close to it. They are often run off solar panels, include systems to store water and heat while using them efficiently. The cost required for the land space is also much less whether it’s rented or owned due to the house size, but some people still sit them on large sections.
Environmental
Tiny homes are friendlier to the environment than large houses because of their size. However, the main reason they’re eco-friendly is an environmentally sensitive mindset drives the movement itself. They’re usually built with higher quality products that are not so environmentally taxing to produce and dispose of at the end of their life.
They often include features like compost toilets to save water while creating healthy compost for their gardens. Their solar panels naturally generate power from their own environment and sometimes eliminate the need for gas. They’re often cleverly designed with natural lighting and include heat and light systems which are less taxing on power.
Moveable
While not all tiny homes move locations easily, most of them can, and people often build them on trailers to cart around to different places. This gives people the flexibility to live where they want or frequently change their scenery without losing the comfort of their own home.
It also means it’s not necessary to own your own land, although many people do and can afford bigger sections where they grow their own food as they saved money on a smaller house price. It makes going on vacation easy and affordable without needing to book lodging or pay for the luxuries their permanent/holiday home has.
Why the Tiny House Movement is Booming & Will it last?
There are two main groups of people in the housing movement with a broad overlap between them; both are driving the movement forward. The first are those who are environmentally sensitive. There is a healthy growth of environmental awareness spreading around the world with the number of people adjusting their lives to it expanding rapidly. As the tiny house movement is significantly more eco-friendly than the traditional housing market, it’s growing along with peoples care for nature.
The second group is based around the growing demand people have for independence. For one example, by way of evidence, according to Upwork, “Freelance workforce growth is accelerating and has outpaced overall U.S. workforce growth by 3x since 2014”.
A pursuit of independence drives this growth of freelancing as “51% of all freelancers say no amount of money would get them to take a traditional job” Also, 47% of these 56.7 million freelancers are millennials showing this growth of independence in the younger generation is expected to grow significantly.
Similar to the freelance movement, tiny homes are a way for people to gain independence within their financial means. A large portion of people want to own their own home but can’t afford one that’s a traditional size. This margin becomes a lot smaller with the rise of tiny houses, as people can move into a house much earlier as an average tiny home costs $46,300 opposed to $272,000 for an average-sized house.
Both the trends of environmentally sensitive people and the drive for independence are increasing. With this in mind, the housing market prices will, more or less, continually rise as the years go by, along with the environmental concerns attributing to housing.
As a result, the tiny house movement looks set to continue its rapid incline making it a valuable business opportunity for anyone with insight into the housing industry.
Statistics & Evidence
“2 out of 5 tiny house owners are over 50 years old” Tiny house society
“The sale of portable cabins is booming in New Zealand, where a housing crisis means hundreds of thousands of Kiwis can no longer afford a home or even a rental… Transportable housing manufacturers say their businesses have “quadrupled” in the past few years, with many New Zealanders unable to see any viable solution to their housing woes.” The Guardian
“87.9% of tiny home owners live in the U.S.A” Classic buildings
“The tiny house movement is really taking off across America and it’s making headway in Europe… The modern day tiny home movement began around 1997 and developed for many reasons such as the astronomical cost of real estate in the cities, homelessness, sustainability, ecologically friendliness and the cost of running a regular home.” Realty biz news
“In 2017 alone, sales of tiny houses increased by 67%” Go downsize
“So where is the movement and industry headed? It is tough to see a ceiling when the numbers are increasing at such a steady rate. If you take a look at our Marketplace page, where individuals and businesses list tiny houses for sale, it has increased by 84% over the last two years and now gets over 2000 visitors a day. As more and more builders enter the market, and if they are building spec homes, this number is likely to increase.” Tiny house marketplace
“Homes beneath the 500 square feet range are appreciating twice as fast as the overall market (19% v 9%)” Tiny house society
Business Ideas With X Cases
There are countless opportunities to start a business within the housing industry, and anyone with some insight and a bit of entrepreneurial drive could start a successful enterprise. Often the best way is to study others success and modify it into your own version. Here are some examples of successful businesses that have been growing:
· Airbnb business
· Tiny house marketplace
· Build to sell tiny homes
· Prefab manufacturing
· Selling kitset tiny houses
· Tiny house real estate
So how complicated is it to build these houses? It definitely takes a lot of practice and skill, but it’s a lot easier to get started with than building a “normal” house. What you’ll need is your speed square, a circ-saw and a couple of other tools.
Conclusion
Whether you would live in a tiny home or not, there is a growing number of people around the world who are eager to join the movement, and the trend doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.
Like all areas of business, those companies that are the most successful are those who adapt and follow the trends wisely. Whether you own a business, aspire too, or are interested in key movements within the housing industry; tiny homes, though small, hold a p