From California, the San Jose Mercury News ran a story on the tiny house movement thriving despite a general downturn in real estate. The report says a small, but growing number of Americans are buying or building homes that could fit inside many people’s living rooms. Not everyone lives in them full time. Some are used for vacation cottages or backyard offices. The article says business at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has grown significantly since the housing crisis began. At a cost of $400 to $1,000 each, the company now sells about 50 blueprints a year, up from 10 five years ago. The smallest house on the site, just 65 square feet, costs of about $39,000, or $16,000 unassembled. We called several retailers to try and find out how much a small one-bedroom manufactured home would cost. The smallest floorplans average between 400-500 square feet. We didn’t find any with available one-bedroom homes, but one dealer told us the cost would likely start at around $24,000—fully assembled, of course.
