Reset A− A+ How likely is it that your next home could be a tiny home, or maybe a small home?

As time goes by, it’s becoming more likely that you’ll be able to buy or rent a tiny or small home the next time you’re in the market for a home. These are the top 12 tiny house trends that are helping to fuel this reality. This is a fun read, so grab your favorite beverage, enjoy, and let’s talk in the comments.

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How Your Next Home Could Be A Tiny House: Top 12 Tiny And Small House Trends That Might Effect You in the 2020s

The Growth of Tiny And Small Homes Over the Last Decade

When I first started Tiny House Talk in early 2009, it felt like tiny houses was a new sub-culture that not that many people really knew about. Just a few short years later, the idea continued to grow as more and more people saw the beauty in tiny. It’s always fascinating to see how tiny and how simple you could live if you wanted to and were allowed to.

By now, everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about when you mention tiny houses, right? Everyone by now has heard about them because they’re all over the Internet, YouTube, and even Home and Garden television. But how has the actual likelihood of getting to live in one changed since 10 years ago? That’s the real question, right?

Top 12 Trends To Help Bring Tiny And Small Homes To You in the 2020s and Beyond

That’s why I’ve organized what I believe are the top 12 trends that might help you live in a tiny house someday. Which do you think might effect you the most? Or at least, which one appeals to you the most? Take a look, think about it, and let me know in the comments so that your voice can be heard.

1. Growth of Tiny House-Friendly RV Parks

More and more, we’re seeing RV parks that are tiny house-friendly. We’re also seeing some RV parks being redeveloped into tiny house communities, or hybrid communities as we will discuss in #7 below. Most RV parks mean that you have to pay monthly rent for your lot. You might find an RV park where you get to buy your lot so you can own the plot of land that your tiny house sits on. But most of the time, this is not an option and you have to pay lot rent. The point is, we’re seeing more and more tiny house-friendly RV parks throughout the country. And RV parks can also be the perfect way to develop a new tiny house community. So if you have your own land that you want to turn into a tiny house community, have you checked into designating it as an RV park and meeting those criteria for zoning, financing, development, etc.?

• Escape Tampa Bay Village in Florida
• Incredible Tiny House Community in Tennessee
• A real tiny house community in Florida
• Tiny Homes Estates Tiny House Community in Tennessee
• Lake Pleasant RV Park in Beaver, WA Welcomes Tiny Homes
• Flats RV and Campground Tiny House Community in BC

2. Park Model Tiny Homes And Communities

Park model tiny homes have been around for a while, and lots of tiny house builders are now building tiny homes based on the park model industry specifications because you can have more space with a park model. And this means we’re getting to see park models built to higher quality standards, like ESCAPE’s Classic. In some areas, park model communities are predominantly 55+ age-restricted communities that single out young people and families. With new park model communities propping up to meet the demands of the tiny house community and movement, it’s exciting to see this as another slightly larger avenue for tiny house construction. Park models are usually 400-sq.-ft. but still mobile as they are built on trailers with removable hitches.

• Old park model community revamped into modernized tiny home community in Palm Springs, California
• Townsend Park Model Cottage at Tiny Living Community
• Park Model Tiny Home in Moab, Utah with Fenced-in Backyard
• Explore more park models here.

3. The ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) Tiny And Small House Movement

The popularization of the Accessory Dwelling Unit is inspiring because it’s yet another way for tiny and small homes to be designed, built, and lived in legally. By design, an ADU is really just another phrase for a guest house, studio, or in-law suite because ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) are just that, an additional dwelling unit on someone’s residential property which can be used as a guest house, home office, and the like. It can also oftentimes be used as a short-term or long-term rental to provide additional income for the homeowner, and additional housing (or temporary lodging) in the area. In areas like Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Asheville, and many other areas, this is a growing trend and can be a wonderful way to develop new tiny and small homes legally.

• Breakthrough legislation allows CA homeowners to build up to two ADU’s (Tiny Homes) on their property
• They Built A 400-square-foot ADU Cottage In Seattle… Moved In, And Rented Out Their BIG House!
• Blue ADU Nanostead Tiny House near Downtown Asheville
• LA Passes Ordinance Making Backyard Tiny Homes Legal
• How Backyard Cottages Are Being Sold Separately in Seattle
• Laurelhurst DADU Cottage in Seattle, WA
• Top 5 Tiny and Small House Trends in Seattle

4. Tiny Houses As A Solution To Homelessness

If you have a philanthropic heart, you’ll love the fact that tiny homes are being used throughout the world as a solution to decrease homelessness. From tiny temporary camping sheds to beautiful cottages on foundations, organizations around the world are using tiny and small homes to help relieve homelessness. Not to mention how effective prefab tiny homes can be during a disaster situation.

• Tiny House Villages For Seattle’s Homeless by Low Income Housing Institute
• Oakland to Accommodate Homeless with Shed-based Tiny Homes
• Tiny Homes for the Homeless in San Jose Wins Approval!
• Portland Green-lights Tiny Homes for Homeless
• Family’s Amazing 41ft Tiny Home on Wheels Built After Losing Their Home to CA Fires

5. Affordable Tiny House Options From Quality Builders

The tiny house movement has grown so much and impacted so many people, but it has also left so many feeling left out and hopeless. Because for many, they honestly just can’t find a way to build a tiny house for themselves affordably like many of the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) stories we’ve featured. Whether it be because of lack of skill and resources, or other, like health reasons, it’s just not a possibility for everyone. This leaves the other option, buying a tiny house from a builder, which is usually surprisingly expensive for those who need it most. We believe this is why we’re seeing some builders design and build quality tiny homes at affordable prices, a few of which I’ve highlighted for you below. And in the next ten years, I think we’ll continue to see more options.

• Beautiful ESCAPE Vista Tiny House Starts Under $40k!
• Affordable $32k Tiny House: The Firefly by Core Housing Solutions
• Lightweight Camper Built Like A House w/ SIPs for 18k!
• 34.5-Foot Affordable Tiny House w/ Up To TWO Main Floor Bedrooms for $39,500
• From Prison to Tiny House Builder: Holy Ground Real Estate

6. Tiny House Vacation Rental Boom, As Predicted in Early 2013

With tiny homes capturing the hearts of the nation, I had a hunch that before we ever get to see many real tiny house communities ever becoming mainstream, we would more likely see tiny houses being used as vacation rentals. Hence, now I think it’s fair to say that we’ve seen the explosion of tiny house vacations and glamping right? Also, many tiny house dwellers retire from the tiny life and so they figure, why not make their old tiny house a vacation spot for others to enjoy? And, meanwhile, they can rake in some rental income. Not a bad way to make the most out of the old tiny house you moved out, right? Turns out, it’s quite the business and I don’t blame anyone for doing it because it’s a great way to repay the cost of your tiny house build, and if you do it for long enough, you might even start profiting, too! And, it’s fun to get to share the experience of a tiny house with other enthusiasts, wouldn’t you think? And others, of course, are doing it and have been doing it as a business for years. These are campground owners, cabin resort owners, and the like. And many of them are buying, building, and adding tiny houses to their properties. Here are just a few examples:

• Montana Tiny House Vacation
• Pet-Friendly Tiny House Vacation With Dog-Park in Waldport, Oregon
• Tiny House Giant Journey Vacation
• New York Boho ESCAPE Tiny House Vacation in Queens
• Modern and Minimalist Kanga Tiny House in Austin, TX
• 2013 Tiny House Vacation Boom Prediction, my “Why Tiny House Communities Don’t Exist” rant
• More Tiny House Vacations

7. Hybrid Tiny House Communities with Short and Long-term Rentals

There are also communities which are what I would call hybrid tiny house communities in that their lots are a combination of short-term (vacation) rentals, medium-term (seasonal) rentals, and long-term rentals. And there are other variables, too. For instance, some of these communities may also be a combination of traditional travel trailers and motorhomes along with tiny houses on wheels, park models, along with the possibility of other structures, too. And there could be even more variables, too. For example, some of the lots can be privately owned and occupied, privately owned and rented, and/or any other variants you can imagine, right? Anyway, here are some hybrid tiny house communities that we know of.

• Tiny Tranquility: A Tiny House Village & Vintage Trailer Park in Waldport, Oregon
• Video Tour: Northern California’s Delta Bay Tiny House Community
• Flats RV and Campground Tiny House Community in BC
• Tiny House Community in Orlando Florida RV Park
• Lakeside Tiny House Vacation Rental in Orlando Tiny House Community
• Incredible Tiny House Community in Tennessee
• Old park model community revamped into modernized tiny home community in Palm Springs, California
• Explore more communities

8. Development of Small House Communities

Many people forget to stop and realize that the entire reason tiny houses on wheels are so popular is only because it’s illegal to build under 1000-sq.-ft. in most areas of North America. The truth is that most of our readers don’t really want a tiny house on wheels, they want an affordable small house on their own land. And aside from some current homeowners, who get to build an additional ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on their properties if they are allowed, you really can’t build under 1000-sq.-ft. in most places. But that is changing. And that’s where we’re seeing creative people find ways to design and build beautiful new communities filled with lovely little homes. I think it’s the future, but it’s going to take some time to see the progress that we want. Though, I feel that the 2020s could be the decade of new small homes – backed by the demand from the 2010s!

• 800-sq.-ft. Small House Built in 2019 (PENDING) in Atlanta
• The Incredible Hiatus Tiny House Built for Tiny Cottage Community in Bend, Oregon
• Tiny House Estates Community in Northern Indiana
• A real tiny house community in Florida

9. ‘Tiny’ Has Inspired A New Wave Of Prefab Homes

The popularity of tiny homes has been growing alongside other fun niche structures like treehouses, floating homes, school bus conversions, van life, shipping container homes, and structures of that nature. It has also spawned a new wave of corporations who are attempting to create the “iPhone of Tiny Homes”. Some of these companies are using shipping containers, and others are developing their own unique designs using other construction methods. Most of these structures are mobile, and some are even stackable. Some of these companies have a vision of a world where you buy a tiny house from them and you can move it to any which of their locations throughout the world. Essentially, you can have them move your tiny house to whatever location you like, if the need were to arise. Pretty interesting concept, isn’t it?

• The High Tech and Affordable Kasita Tiny House: The Next Revolution in Housing?
• OFIS Arhitekti Funky Stackable Housing Units
• Prefabricated Modular Stackable Tiny Housing
• B-and-BEE Stackable ‘Honeycomb’ Micro Shelters
• Pre-Fab Multi-Use Smart-Modules by Casa-Cubo Brazil
• Prefab Shipping Container Tiny Home on Amazon!
• Kanga Tiny House and Cottage Combo

10. Opportunities for Development of New Tiny And Small House Communities Still Exist

There is now very likely more demand and desire than ever for tiny and small housing! And unfortunately, there is not even close to enough options out there. This means the opportunity is out there for you or anyone else out there looking for ways to develop permanent tiny and small housing solutions. The land part of the equation must be solved. For this to happen, we need tiny home builders to shift towards a focus of development. If tiny house builders can learn to become real estate developers, we will see a very bright and abundant future of tiny home communities.

• Amherstburg Votes To Allow ADU Tiny Homes (Ontario, Canada)
• Tiny Tranquility: A Tiny House Village & Vintage Trailer Park in Waldport, Oregon
• Tiny House with Slide-Outs For Sale in Flat Rock, NC Simple Life Community
• The Incredible Hiatus Tiny House Built for Tiny Cottage Community in Bend, Oregon

11. The Reality of Real Estate – It Is A Slow To Evolve Industry!

The harsh reality of real estate and tiny houses is this: it’s a slow to evolve industry. One of the slowest in the world, I might add, due to its very nature. The zoning, regulations, financing, insurance, infrastructure, not to mention politics and lobbyists. All of that being said, progress is being made slowly but surely. And that’s just the way it is. Where do you see tiny and small homes through the 2020s and into the 2030s?

• Fresno Legalizes Tiny Houses with New Zoning Change
• How Do I Get Zoning Passed for Tiny Houses in my Area?
• Brainerd, MN Changes Zoning to Allow Smaller Homes
• Amherstburg Votes To Allow ADU Tiny Homes (Ontario, Canada)
• Breakthrough legislation allows CA homeowners to build up to two ADUs (Tiny Homes) on their property

12. DIYers: Let’s Not Forget About The Growing Amount of DIYers Out There Building Their Own Dream Tiny And Small Homes And Making Their Realities Come True

Blood, sweat, and tears are often just a few of the costs of embarking on the journey of designing and building your own tiny home, cabin, or small house. As is the case with many things, in the end, the struggle makes it all the better, which is why so many express so much satisfaction in building their own tiny homes. But don’t let this allow you to believe it is an easy undertaking, as many try and quit, others finish with a product they are not satisfied with. For the ones that are truly dedicated and capable, those that take their time thinking through and refining their design, the outcome pays off. So here are some DIY stories that may serve as inspiration (or fair warning) for you. As with anything, life changes. And many a times, these DIYers have to part with their homes because of changes to their lives. This can be a great opportunity for you, if you’re prepared because you can get a one-of-a-kind home at a usually pretty affordable price compared to buying from a builder. So many tiny and small homes end up on the market for various reasons and changes to lifestyles (having children, downsizing further, going overseas, building a new tiny house, etc.).

• Mat & Danielle’s NEW, DIY Van Conversion (Beautiful And Genius)
• Single dad turns shed into cheap/DIY/debt-free tiny home
• Family Designs/Builds Small Home, Mortgage-free! (pictured above)
• Couple’s (Finished) DIY Shedsistence Tiny House
• Living in a $5k camper renovation: an affordable alternative to a tiny house?

What do you think is going to happen with tiny homes in the next ten years?

What trends do you think we will see? What do you think will affect you the most? Or, in other words, what do you hope to see for yourself in regards to housing options in the next ten years? Also, do you think I’m wrong about anything? What do you agree and disagree on? Why? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

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Alex

Alex Pino is the founder of Tiny House Talk, a leading resource on tiny homes and simple living since 2009. He helps readers discover unique homes, connect with builders, and explore alternative living.

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