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Tiny Homes Have Lofty Goals to De-Stress Your Life

Are you tired of pricey utility bills for heating and cooling your home? Are you passionate about leaving a smaller ecological footprint on the environment? Do you want to escape the burden of thousands of dollars in mortgage payments? Maybe you’re tired of all the clutter and want to scale it back a bit! Whatever your reason for downsizing is, homebuilders and developers have heard you! Have no fear — the Tiny House Movement is here!

Tiny House Movement

Why tiny homes are gaining popularity

With cost of living expenses skyrocketing and many yearly salaries staying the same, some consumers are opting out of the standard 2,000 plus square footage homes and into something cozier. Tiny houses are classified as dwellings under 400 square feet and small houses are classified as houses under 1,000. Originally small and tiny homes in America were mostly used for additional housing on existing properties (for family or guests to have their own space and privacy), but after the real estate crisis in 2007 many Americans started to consider alternative options other than large houses and mortgage payments.

There are numerous reasons why it is beneficial to downsize your living arrangements when buying a house. First and foremost, it’s less expensive. Tiny houses can be bought for a fraction of what you might spend on a "normal" sized house. The median price for an existing home in America (as of 2022) is $372,700 whereas a tiny home can be built (depending on size, design materials and whether you hire a professional contractor) for between $50,000–100,000. Not only are you spending less on the actual build or purchase price, but you are also saving a bundle on energy and utility bills.

Smaller appliances work more efficiently in a home under 1000 square feet. It costs less to heat and cool such a small space. If you equip your small home with solar panels you can live totally off the grid with no electricity bill! Even if you have to hook up to a traditional power source, your monthly bill will be a quarter of what you are used to spending. In 2022 the average electricity bill came to $120.00 a month. Imagine what you could do with an extra $1,500 dollars a year from energy savings!

Small house real estate benefits extend beyond cost

There are also non-monetary motives to decrease your square footage. If you are like most Americans, it feels like a constant struggle to keep a 3 bedroom, 1,500 square foot home clean. Dust, dust everywhere! It takes constant effort to keep everything spic and span! In a tiny home with less living space you will obviously have less to maintain.

Along with the dust, most homes are filled with a ton of "stuff". Buying a tiny house will force you to take stock in what you truly need and what unnecessary items you have accumulated over the years that you can get rid of or donate. (You might be amazed that you don’t actually need everything in your 3,000-square foot behemoth.) There is without a doubt a psychological correlation between clutter and a negative state of mental health. Have you ever seen a happy beginning to an episode of "Hoarders" on TV?

Using efficient living spaces is also a MASSIVE help to the environment. In the US, energy used in homes accounted for 72% of the total electricity used last year. Personal dwellings also account for 38% of the nation's carbon dioxide output. Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor to global warming. By living in a smaller dwelling and burning less fossil fuels you are leaving behind a smaller footprint and in turn not contributing to environmental degradation quite so much.

Downsizing into a tiny home could decrease your stress

Downsizing and making the decision to buy a small or tiny home could increase the number of zeros in your bank account and positively change the amount of stress you experience on a daily basis. You will have less stress from worrying about mortgage payments and utility bills, you will have less stress from constantly having to keep up with cleaning, you will have less stress from decreasing your material clutter, and you will have the peace of mind knowing you are helping the environment. Many folks are jumping on the "minimizing" bandwagon for these reasons.

Let’s be honest, while "tiny homes" are somewhat trendy now and can dramatically simplify your life, not everyone can manage living in a 500-square foot house. Some people have large families or other needs for more space and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! For the folks that are interested in the above benefits, it is good to know that builders and architects are noticing the demand for smaller dwellings. So, if a Thoreau-esque form of escapism is something you have been pondering, getting a tiny house may be just the right lifestyle move for you!

Want more advice about all things home — including homebuying or selling advice? Nestiny is a great place for homebuyer education and to help you gauge how ready you are to buy a home. Journey Homeward allows you to enter all your wants and needs while the True Affordability Tool will break down your budget, showing what you can comfortably afford. You will also receive a Ready Report that will give you a vital head start in the home buying journey, saving you valuable time and money.


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