For the vast majority of families, housing goals tend to revolve around getting a house that is as big as possible. This is why most people move to larger homes when they have children. And rightly so. When the past century is analyzed, the growth in income has led to an increase in the average house size. After all, individuals who start earning more are very likely to use the additional income to upgrade some of their assets.
Two of the most common assets that all families prioritize are vehicles and their properties. Thus, purchasing a home that is larger in size is the equivalent of buying a newer model of a car.
Recently, however, the market has slowly pushed forward a trend that goes in the opposite direction of everything that was previously mentioned. In other words, instead of focusing on large residences, people are starting to move to the so-called “tiny” homes. The name, which is pretty self-explanatory, is the label of a movement where individuals are shifting away from the costly housing options that seldom offer high levels of sufficiency.
So, how does this change in buying patterns affect businesses that operate within the housing industry?
Changes in Construction
In order to accommodate the spike in demand for smaller houses, a lot of construction projects are slowly shifting towards smaller structures. So, instead of building multi-story apartment complexes where a few families may reside in large living spaces, a lot of businesses are turning to smaller units. For instance, what used to be multi-bedroom floorplans are gradually going back to studios and single-bedroom apartments.
Fortunately, from a business perspective, this means that companies will be able to have a higher project turnover rate. To better understand this, consider how long an average construction of a regular-sized house with two floors and four bedrooms, per se, might take. On average, such an endeavor would take anywhere from three to six months depending on the funding, weather, and other factors. For micro-homes, however, one will only need a fraction of time to get the construction completed. In turn, they will have more time to work on other projects and increase profit margins.
Selling Land
Another area where one can see the micro-home trend’s impact is the process of selling land. Since tiny houses revolve around the principle of saving space, they are not going to come with an abundance of land. Thus, the owners are willing to give away the luxury of having an enormous front or back yard.
According to a group of licensed real estate agents from Homes of Idaho, companies that work in land sales are going to leverage this by divvying up their plots into smaller pieces. That way, they can close multiple transactions for separate selling prices instead of having one large sale for the whole plot of land. Doing so will usually result in higher overall revenue.
Interior Design
According to Homes of Idaho, the fact that micro-homes have a smaller living area will require one to design the interior differently. After all, having an enormous kitchen or a large TV screen may not be appropriate when the maneuvering space is not big enough to fit them.
Residents must come up with ways to still make their homes presentable and not let the reduced space affect them. Luckily, this gives rise to a new selling category for specialized interior designers. In translation, they will be able to offer customers their expertise for designing a micro-interior!
Now over to you
So, what do you think of the micro-homes trend? Will you take part in the movement? Why? Why not? Please share your thoughts down below.