Did you know that there are thousands if not millions of homeowners who are sizing down? Big houses are out and smaller more efficient houses are in now. Believe it or not, I know a ton of stuff about economics. It actually was my passion when I first started my undergraduate degree. I did a lot of research on the demographics of generations. For instance, my grandma was called the “Bob Hope” generation. Most of you don’t even know who that is. That’s okay. Everyone has heard of the Baby Boomers. I guess they didn’t have good birth control back then.
After them came the Generation X’ers or as I like to call them, the Nintendo Generation. That is what I am, part of the X group. There was another group that was called Generation Y, but I think after realizing how different this group is, you couldn’t just lump them in as the next letter. I know, lame right? So they sort of named themselves the Millennials. So you take the Boomers who now are about 75 million and the Millennials which are 82 million, and you have the largest buying group in history ever. What happens when both of those generations want smaller houses? Tiny houses? You have a movement.
The best way to discover the Tiny House movement is to just start looking. Go Google it, look on Pinterest, and go watch Tiny Nation on the DIY channel. Go like some pages on Facebook and you will quickly find all kinds of articles, pictures and websites dedicated to Tiny Houses. Tiny living is something that some parts of the world already know and are near and dear to their heart. NYC, Paris, Sweden, Hong Kong are just a few place that have learned to adjust due to a lack of space. San Francisco is another place with really high-priced housing for little amounts of space. Portland actually has its own community of tiny homes.
A tiny home can be as small as 115 square feet and up to 500 square feet. Many tiny homes are actually built on a flatbed trailer and can be pulled by a truck. Most cities have ordinances in place that prohibit small houses/dwellings. A flatbed tow gets around this. Lots of people actually park their tiny house in their friend’s backyard.
I found out this weekend at the Denver Home Show I found out that there is a new Tiny Home hotel that is being constructed in Lyons Colorado. Lyons is just outside of Estes Park, and would be about an hour or so to get there. I think it would be cool to go stay in a tiny house for a little while before actually investing and building one.
The name of the new little tiny hotel is called “Wee Casa”. A queen bed is $179 USD a night and $199 for 2 queen beds. One of the tiny houses I saw had a Murphy bed, just one bed, and was a little more spacious. Obviously the more people you have in a small space the smaller it is going to feel. Kids, pets and luggage and you don’t have a lot of room. Just keep that in mind. Ideally I think a tiny house is perfect for two people or one person and a pet.
Keep in mind that many hotel rooms are larger in size than a tiny house. This type of living, amazingly is appealing to a lot of people. It was the busiest part of the home show. Millennials are not so much into hoarding possessions. Boomers are scaling down and living simpler. Keep in mind that a lot of people can’t afford a house. There is only a limited amount of affordable housing anywhere. It is difficult for people to save up 10 or 20% for a down-payment. A tiny house is around 50k built for you. I happen to know you can get it done a lot cheaper than that.
Personally I love living outdoors. When you have a tiny home you extend your living space outside. I do that already. I have my hammock and desk outside. Plenty of sitting places. I like to work outside. I can see myself building a really nice tiny house and then parking it somewhere in the mountains, or at my family’s property in Pensacola Florida.
So if you have ever wondered about a tiny house and wanted to see one up close and personal, the Denver Home Show is still going on today at the National Western Complex. It is a fun afternoon of seeing all kinds of cool stuff for your home, indoor or out. Tuff Shed is smart. They are converting and decorating small sheds into things like a Man Cave or a yoga studio and even one as an office. If you don’t plan on moving it around, then getting a Tuff Shed is a lot smarter option. You can still put a sofa bed in one of those, a desk, small fridge, burner. There just is no water or sewage. You can get a Tuff Shed for a few thousand, versus 50 – 60 thousand.
