Tiny houses entice budget-conscious

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pennsylvania - In a country that nearly always believes bigger is better - think supersize fries, giant cars and 10-gallon hats - more and more people in the United States are downsizing their living quarters.

Welcome to the world of tiny homes, most of them less than 37 square meters (400 square feet), which savvy buyers are snapping up for their minimalist appeal and smaller carbon footprints.

The tiny homes revolution, which includes those on foundations and those on wheels, began a few decades ago, but the financial crisis of 2008 and the coming-of-age of millennials gave it a new impetus.

The proliferation of home improvement shows on networks like HGTV fueled the trend, inspiring customers ready to personalize their own small living spaces.

Cost is one of the driving factors. A tiny home of just over 200 square feet with a customized interior can go for about $50,000, which is a massive savings over a McMansion in the suburbs.

"We have a housing crisis and we have crumbling buildings around us. It's just hard to find good quality living at an affordable price," says Brandy Jones, who took the plunge with her husband and two sons.

Eight months ago, they moved into a tiny house in Reading, Pennsylvania, about 100 kilometers northwest of Philadelphia.

Jones says that for a new house in the area, the family would have had to budget for about $300,000. The tiny home option "is a huge difference. It makes living affordable."

In most cases, the savings is not enough of a motivating factor: The average newly-built family home in the US measures about 2,600 square feet, according to the Census Bureau.

Marcus Stoltzfus, the director of sales and marketing for Liberation Tiny Homes in nearby Leola, Pennsylvania, says that over the past 40 years, US people "went into this McMansion phase, where they built those massive homes".

Now, in some parts of the country, "people are realizing that living with less is very advantageous to your lifestyle", he said.

No 'wasted space'

Scott Berrier, who moved into a 370-square-foot home about four months ago with his wife Melissa, says he's happy not to have as many possessions as before.

"We really like the whole minimalist approach - kind of paring down and not having clutter everywhere and everything," Berrier explained, adding that his home is simply more functional.

"The biggest difference I notice is that we use every single space. There is not any wasted space," he said.

Roland Figueredo, who plans to leave his New York apartment in July for a tiny house in Oregon, says he's ready for a change.

"We truly are trying to simplify our life and getting rid of our crap," he said.

Even if public opinion is changing, it's not always easy to go against societal norms and materialistic expectations.

When Berrier told friends of his plans, several of them warned him that his new home would make him feel claustrophobic.

Stoltzfus admits the trend can seem "very hipster-ish" and suffers from a bit of a negative image, but he believes that will change over time.

"The more that folks travel, work from home, this trend will definitely be up there," he said.

Berrier says wanting to live a more minimalist life extends to the environmental impact of homeownership.

"You're not leaving as much of a carbon footprint. You're not using as much electricity, as much water" as in a traditional home or apartment, he notes.

Despite the advantages, the tiny homes movement is far from widespread. Rough estimates put the number of tiny homes in the US at a little more than 10,000.

The first sticking point is financing. Would-be homeowners are finding it impossible to get traditional loans for nontraditional houses.

Banks are instead offering medium-term loans of up to seven years - at significantly higher interest rates than regular loans.

But the main obstacle is a legal one: Most municipalities and towns ban residents from living year-round in anything on wheels, and often have statutes requiring homes to be at least 900 square feet.

Several US states such as Colorado, Nevada and North Carolina are seen as more progressive on the issue, but the country's most populated areas have for the most part ignored the movement.

Historically, bungalows, caravans and mobile homes have a bad reputation in the US. They are perceived as badly made and decidedly lower-class.

But the Berriers' home is impeccably decorated with a bathtub, a sunroom and a movie screen - no "trailer trash" here.

"There are preconceived notions. They haven't seen it enough. It's just something new. I think that's the problem," Berrier said.

Agence France - Presse