I ran into this today on Huffington Post. It was published a couple days ago on July 7 2010: Robyn Griggs Lawrence: Size Matters: Americans Moving to Smaller Homes. The announcement is that according to the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey houses are getting smaller. So I looked for the survey and here’s what it says.
The report’s title reads While Home and Lot Sizes are Still Shrinking, Property Enhancements Remain Popular. It’s written by Kermit Baker, American Institute of Architects’ Chief Economist. House and lot sizes are decreasing. Outdoor living space is becoming more popular while things like expensive landscaping, water fountains, and other expensive improvements.
According to the survey, most of the residential architects reported experiencing a decrease in home sizes. Both entry level and upscale houses showed a decrease in size.
Here is something I found interesting…
Households are looking for more flexibility in their smaller homes, and as such open space layouts are growing in popularity. Traditional single-function rooms such as formal dining rooms or living rooms are less popular, being replaced by rooms that can serve multiple purposes for the household.
In summary this report states that current trends are leading towards smaller spaces, more outdoorsy designs, and an increased demand in multipurpose areas. Then there are tiny houses which are not directly talked about in this report.
I think most homeowners have not realized that tiny houses on trailers are an opportunity to build a $20,000 really small guest house without having to pay expensive permits–as long as RVs are allowed to be parked on the property. You could rent it or live in it while you rent your other house and live as if you were mortgage free.
Ideas for discussion: How much do you think a tiny house would rent for where you live? Have any of you ever toyed with the idea of buying a normal house where you can park and live in the tiny house while collecting rent from the larger one? If that’s not a possibility for you then what about building a tiny house to rent or to have an inexpensive guest house?
Read the Huffington Post Article Here
Read the American Institute of Architects 2010 Trends Survey Here
Alex
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Back when I sold portable buildings for a company, I had a customer who bought 3 12'x24' buildings from me that he intended to finish out and rent. He had us add a 9 lite door and 2 additional windows to them and deliver them to his location. Later I found out he was getting $350.00 a month on them and had a waiting list. For the record, he was located in the county (no building requirements) and he did a rock bottom basic and sloppy finish out. On an 8' wide, I don't know yet but there are a couple of places I can check into and get back to you later.
Interesting stuff, David. I imagine that some of these tiny houses can easily be rented in lots where RVs are allowed. Where I live in (Naples FL) we have the Golden Gate Estates where I imagine this would work.
Back when I sold portable buildings for a company, I had a customer who bought 3 12'x24' buildings from me that he intended to finish out and rent. He had us add a 9 lite door and 2 additional windows to them and deliver them to his location. Later I found out he was getting $350.00 a month on them and had a waiting list. For the record, he was located in the county (no building requirements) and he did a rock bottom basic and sloppy finish out. On an 8' wide, I don't know yet but there are a couple of places I can check into and get back to you later.
Interesting stuff, David. I imagine that some of these tiny houses can easily be rented in lots where RVs are allowed. Where I live in (Naples FL) we have the Golden Gate Estates where I imagine this would work.