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The pandemic has made many Americans dream of more space and rush to find it. Sales of large homes are growing. The same goes for the little ones.
These villas typically measure no more than 350 square feet, or slightly larger than a standard hotel room. They are built mainly in suburban yards or converted garages on the west coast, where new laws designed to reduce homelessness in the region have spurred their construction.
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But they are also for sale or rent in rural Maine and Vermont. They are emerging in Wyoming, Alaska, Georgia and Texas. Florida city officials have proposed zoning changes to allow them.
While tracking all of these mini-homes in the U.S. is difficult, listings that include tiny homes or other types of guest apartments have increased by an average of 8.6% per year over the past decade, according to a July study by Freddie Mac. Today , there are more than 1.4 million homes that share a lot with one of these units.
The high cost of housing is a factor. The average price paid for a home by a first-time buyer is about $ 266,500, according to the National Association of Realtors, which is out of reach for many younger owners. Small houses can be rented for approximately the price of a traditional apartment of the same size. For smallholders, the units generate income or serve as guest houses. Owners usually rent them out to college students or offer them to elderly family members so they can stay close.
HOUSE PRICES RISE TO REMEMBER THE PANDEMIC OF CORONAVIRUS WHEN BUYERS LOOK FOR SPACE
The pandemic is creating more uses. Some people are building them as a backyard office while working from home. Others are building small houses on non-urbanized plots, where you can expect to find a traditional-sized house, either for use as a main residence or as a holiday residence.
These houses increase rapidly; eight weeks is a typical period of time to build. Builders often incorporate materials that align with the main house, as zoning rules tend to require. The price of construction varies by region, but in the Los Angeles area, for example, converting a garage into a so-called accessory housing unit starts at about $ 100,000.
Small tenants are usually young professionals who prefer the autonomy and privacy of having their own building and, sometimes, a small outdoor space.
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Kelly Samuels, a 28-year-old teacher, lived in four small guest houses. “I was never interested in having people living above or below me,” she said. His most recent rental, a two-room home in Encino, California, is more spacious than most, at 560 square feet. It has a full kitchen with steel appliances, wrought iron cabinet handles and French doors. Mrs. Samuels works in the bedroom, while her boyfriend works in the kitchen and in the living room. The $ 1,900 monthly rent is comparable to similarly sized apartments in the area.
One of the secrets to peaceful home life, said Samuels, is maintaining a good relationship with neighbors. “People who live in the main house kind of build or destroy the place,” she said.
New laws that relax regulations on the construction of small homes in West Coast states like California and Oregon have helped spark a frenzy in building these homes.
“People are at home, spending more time at home, looking around and thinking, ‘I have something I always wanted to do,'” said Paul Dashevsky, founder of GreatBuildz. The company connects owners with small contractors and has seen a huge increase in business during the pandemic.
HOUSES SELLING AT A RECORD PACE, WITH THE AVERAGE PRICES THAT REACH THE HEIGHTS OF ALL TIMES
As home prices rise, more new home buyers see the addition of a small home as a way to help finance the purchase of a home.
The costs of cheap loans are also fueling the boom. Many homeowners are taking advantage of low interest rates to refinance and use the extra money to build a small home, said Freddie Zamani. He founded the small house building company EcoSmart Builders RE Inc., which builds houses for about $ 95,000.
Ruth Washington, a retired nurse in Los Angeles, hopes that the small house she built with the conversion of her 500-square-foot garage will be an affordable alternative for seniors who cannot afford a typical Southern California nursing home. As part of the rental price, she would also offer some nursing services to the couple.
“I thought that with that I could probably get a senior husband and wife and make their lives a little easier,” she said.