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If you’re questioning about what’s the tiny house price range, then read on.
Buying a home in the US is now more expensive than ever before.
As traditional housing prices continue to skyrocket, homeownership is becoming less likely for many people.
But guess what?
Tiny homes are proving to be an excellent solution to the housing crisis.
For those with no idea, tiny houses on wheels are super affordable and can easily be customized to meet individuals’ needs.
Whether you’re interested in a tiny house on wheels or a foundation-built small home, rest assured that you’ll find one that ticks all your boxes, including your budget.
Today’s post will run you through all of the incredible tiny houses on wheels options and what they cost.
How much is a tiny house?
One question we get asked a lot is how much is a tiny house?
And today, we would like to provide a probable answer to this question in the hearts of many would-be homeowners.
While tiny homes are super affordable, especially when you compare them to traditional homes, it’s important we set the record straight in terms of pricing.
This way, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into and prepare for the journey ahead.
As per a survey conducted in 2015, the average cost of building a tiny home of approximately 246 square feet is $23,000.
But while this survey makes a great reference point, especially for those new to the tiny home industry, we suggest you take the information with a grain of salt and here is why.
Like the traditional home industry, the pricing for tiny homes has changed remarkably since 2015.
More so, the price you eventually get to pay for a tiny home depends on the type of small home you want.
While some DIY tiny homes can cost you under $5,000 to build, tiny luxury homes can go for as high as $100,000 or more.
Price of tiny homes: Breaking down the types and their costs
Even though there is still a lot of unresolved debate about what is and isn’t a tiny home, for the purpose of this post, we have decided to highlight three types of tiny homes that rule the small home market.
They include tiny houses on wheels, foundation-built tiny homes, and, of course, container homes.
Tiny homes on wheels
Tiny house on wheels is one of the most popular housing designs in the tiny home industry.
These elegant, beautiful and adorable little homes are nicely built on trailers.
In terms of size, THOW measures between 100 to 400 square feet.
While this structure features all of the essential amenities you’ll want to see in a home, its only difference from a traditional home is that it is tinier.
If you decide to take the DIY route and plan to use reclaimed materials, you should spend between $5,000 to $30,000 for your THOW project.
We have read exciting stories of couples who built their dream tiny home for $30,000 using recycled materials from their barn.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that you can drastically reduce the cost of your tiny home project if you ditch traditional plumbing for composite toilets and stored water systems.
While many tiny homeowners have managed to build their tiny homes without digging too deep into their savings, always have it at the back of your mind that things can become quite expensive for the following reasons:
- Besides all of the materials you’ll need for your housing project, you’ll need to factor in the price of large trailers.
- The extra cost of using materials designed for occasional movement can increase the price of a tiny home on wheels.
If you decide you don’t want to get your hands dirty, then get ready to fork out between $50,000 to $75,000 for a fully completed tiny home.
Tiny homes on a foundation
Tiny homes on a foundation are arguably one of the cheapest options out there.
For tiny home enthusiasts who just want to stick to the basic amenities in a home, you can end up building a decent home for less than $5,000.
One way to go about this is to opt for an outbuilding kit or a weathertight shed.
Are you looking for something a little more sophisticated?
Then you can opt for a more robust tiny home design like the famous Hobbit Hole-style home.
While this structure is still very much a tiny home, it has remarkable super-sized features like sophisticated large-scale solar power systems and high-end appliances.
Container homes
Container homes are becoming commonplace in the home industry.
And because of the many options people have with this kind of home design, we see a lot of customization spring up now and then.
While container homes can be built on wheels, we have seen many tiny homeowners build theirs on a permanent foundation.
And given these options, we have seen tiny container homes go for different prices.
And just like the other tiny home options, we highlighted above, container homes are also quite affordable.
What thrills us about container homes is that they are weathertight and highly durable.
Our findings show that used containers cost between $2,000 or less.
If you get a suitable container for your project, all that is left to do is cut a few windows, do your flooring, add some insulation and finally install some furniture.
If you decide to go the DIY route, it’s entirely possible to set up a comfortable tiny home for around $5,000 or a little more.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that a $5,000 container home will only get you a basic home without traditional wiring or plumbing.
But we doubt you’ll miss much, especially since you can opt for alternative systems that are equally weathertight and heated.
If you don’t want to go through the hassles of building your tiny home, you can opt for professionally built container homes.
This option includes tiny container-style dwellings and sophisticated luxury container homes made using four to five different containers.
If you’re out for a high-end model, then get set to cough out $100,000 or more.
Tiny house cost breakdown
Now that you know a thing or two about tiny home pricing, it’s time to run you through the cost breakdown to make things even clearer.
With this, you should know exactly how much you’re looking to spend if you decide to make your tiny home dream a reality.
When building your tiny home, keep in mind that building materials and labor will make up the bulk of the money you’ll spend on your project.
Whether you opt for a pre-constructed tiny home or go the DIY route, keep in mind that some variability in price exists between these two options.
That said, the average cost of a tiny home is pegged at around $10,000.
Notwithstanding, this price can vary significantly.
For instance, if you decide to go the DIY route and plan to provide all the labor, you may end up building your tiny home for a fraction of the cost.
On the flip side, if you decide to go for an architecturally designed tiny home fitted with top-notch features, then you may end up spending over $100,000.
Read on to see our tiny house cost breakdown.
Cost of materials
When building your tiny home, it’s always important to factor in the total cost of materials and from experience, we know that this can end up costing you between $15,000 and $30,000.
And before you get excited, keep in mind that this doesn’t include the cost of construction tools and architectural design.
Nevertheless, this money should be enough to build the structure as well as all of the necessary interior amenities.
If you want to cut down construction time, you can opt for tiny home shells.
This prebuilt structure will help you skip a major part of the construction process.
And if you have the cash to spend, you can go for a completed exterior that is already fitted on a trailer with wheels.
Just so you know, this option may end up costing you an extra $10,000.
Cost of labor
Another important factor you should consider when building your tiny home project is the cost of labor.
Except you’ll be supplying labor, you must factor in labor cost while executing your house project.
To give you an idea of how much you may end up spending on labor costs, keep in mind that labor costs will gulp between 10% and 20% of the project’s total cost.
Cost of land
The land is a very integral factor in the tiny home building project.
And yes, it can sometimes be complicated.
While looking for land for your home project, consider that many states have zoning regulations that make buying land for tiny homes pretty tricky.
Some states like California allow tiny houses as ADUs.
In some counties in California, for instance, tiny homes are allowed as caregiver dwellings.
That said, you’ll need to do your homework to find out what is obtainable in your preferred location.
Since buying land for a tiny home is quite complicated, many tiny home enthusiasts opt to rent land instead.
Also, this can be pretty tricky, so it’s important to evaluate local options to see what the law stipulates.
If you aren’t able to buy a land or rent one you can park your tiny home on, you can explore mobile home parks for a short time until you find a suitable place to park your home.
Just like traditional housing, the cost of getting land to park your tiny home can vary sharply, and yes, location plays a significant role.
While you may end up getting an acre of land for $2,000 or less in states like Oklahoma, the same parcel of land will cost you nearly $200,000 in states like New Jersey.
And before you decide to make a down payment, make sure you factor in zoning regulations.
This way, you know what to expect as you go about your project.
Cost of appliances
When you opt for a tiny home, it’s pretty evident that you’ll save a lot of money on amenities; nevertheless, the cost of special appliances in your home can become quite expensive.
For instance, if you’re looking to fit an apartment-sized fridge in your tiny home, you may end up spending more money compared to a regular fridge you can pick up at your local store.
Nevertheless, if you go for smaller appliances, you may end up saving more.
To give you a tentative figure, you may end up spending between $5,000 to $10,000 for appliances alone.
Compared to what you’ll need in a traditional home, you’ll agree that this is quite fair.
The tiny house cost calculator
If you don’t want to go through the hassles of figuring out how much your tiny home project will cost you, you can simply leverage all of the exciting online tiny house calculators to do the job for you.
By filling out all the relevant fields with your preferred tiny home design, including a budget, you should get a detailed estimate of your proposed tiny home project.
A simple Google search will provide you with exciting websites that let you get an estimate for your housing project.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to build or buy a tiny house?
Experience has shown us that building a tiny house on wheels is cheaper than buying one.
If you decide to go the DIY route, you may end up spending between $12,000 to $30,000 on your DIY building project.
Some people even spend between $8,000 to $10,000 to build a 24-foot-long home.
How much would it cost to build a tiny house on a budget?
If you don’t want to dig too deep into your savings for your dream tiny home, you can use reclaimed materials to build your small home.
With this option, you may end up spending between $10,000 to $20,000 for your tiny home project.
However, if you decide to hire a professional, you may spend twice those numbers.
Is it possible to build a tiny house for $5000?
Sure, you can build a tiny house shell for $5,000.
But the shell is the only thing you have got, and you will have to cough out extra money for the interior.
Also, keep in mind that this excludes any trailer or foundation system.
