Tiny houses are more popular than ever, but they’re not the bargain everyone thinks they are

Tiny houses are 62% more expensive than full-size homes based on square footage. Their skyrocketing popularity sums up America’s housing crisis.

The pandemic further fueled the popularity of tiny houses, sending a boom in sales. Picture Alliance/Getty Images

By Hillary Hoffower

In a time when space is the ultimate luxury, tiny living is still going strong.

The tiny house movement burgeoned in the last decade, as mostly young 20- and 30-somethings opted for the minimalist life that came with living in a house smaller than 600 square feet on wheels. The pandemic, as with most things, accelerated the trend.

In 2018, 53% of Americans said they would consider living in a tiny house in a National Association of Homebuilders survey. By late 2020, 56% of Americans said the same in a poll conducted by financial company IPX 1031.

This interest created a boom in tiny house sales last year, Insider’s Frank Olito reported. Experts told Olito that the pandemic created a new market for tiny houses among those looking for space to work remotely or as a way to socially distance.

The tiny house has always been popular as a seemingly budget-friendly alternative to a single-family home, especially among millennials, who’ve had a notoriously hard time saving for a down payment thanks to many an…