re: 1 bed 2 bath tiny homes in San Antonio for $160K

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Like it or not this is what the future looks like. Lots of older single childless people will need affordable homes to live in. Welcome to hell.

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These are affordable but they are WAY more expensive than larger homes. They are ill designed to begin with. Too much dirt going unused. The roof lines are unnecessarily complex without adding much if anything to the aesthetic aspects of the structure. Finally they are unreasonably priced. The appliances cost as much as a 2000 square foot home but the mechanical systems are MUCH less expensive, as are the finishes and every WBS Division of construction. There is a minimal amount any living unit costs per square foot and that cost drops as area increases but it is not the difference between these homes and typical new homes in the area....these are far more expensive. That is ALL on the builder/developer/lender. It is entirely possible to build those homes for $90,000 and make $18,000 on each one. EASILY. What is not easy is running the marketing campaign and having the sales force needed to dupe enough buyers into buying one at that price.

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What sort of vehicles do you drive? How often do you eat out? How many streaming services are you subscribed to?

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Old/never/zero.

But please tell me more about how soft I am. I love hearing this from the generation that retired at 60 with a full pension + SS while working as a hardware store manager.

Lots of wasted square footage in the hallways b/c of the shotgun design. Wouldn't be horrible if I was single and they were w/in walking distance to restaurants, grocery stores etc but sharing that w/another person would be a bit tough.

I wouldn’t buy a one bedroom house.

Why not just build a flat? You’d save construction costs. And can build it in a neighborhood with amenities.

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small homes under 1000 SF, will always have a higher price/sf..
Actually, the 660 SF range is the exact example commonly used to teach the principle. When building, the fixed cost can only be distributed so far when you only have 660SF to work with, when compared to 1660 sf. For example, distribute just the permitting fees across 660 SF vs 1660 SF.

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Smaller houses absolutely will cost more per square foot than similarly finished but larger houses. There is not 28% difference per square foot. (if the average in the area is around $175). Appliances cost the same so there is a substantial difference there....say the kitchen appliances cost $3000 in a 660 foot home that is about $4.50 a foot. Those same appliances would be appropriate in a 2000 sq foot home so it'd be $1.50 a foot. Everything else is an actual cost based on units of measure which will be far less in 660 square feet than it is in 2000. There is more waste in the smaller units because the amount of waste is about the same as a % of the area on each build. There are a BUNCH of new and existing homes in that area for sale that are priced around $120 - $140 a square foot. There is some profit and overhead reflected in those costs even in existing homes because the market price is comprised of new construction and re-sells. It is probably about $120 a foot to build row houses in the area. These tiny homes are priced at a little over 100% of that. That is not a function of scale, that is a function of inefficiency OR aggressive pricing of a commodity which is vastly different than anything in the area.

Also these things are no doubt going to face simlar mortgae issues that mobile homes face...mainly the fact that the initial sale is accomplished with a lender with a vested interest in getting someone on the mortgage. Re-sells will not have that advantage...buyers will either have to have cash or will have to find a seller who will carry the note or will have to pay infinitely higher interest rates offered by lenders who will do mortgages on them. They most likely will not qualify for typical traditional mortgages, especially when they are re-sold.

Out of curiosity I checked the address and those homes are not eligible for a USDA Mortgage but the surrounding area homes are. Probably based on zoning for the tiny homes but may be based on FHA requirements. At any rate the area being eligible for USDA Mortgages makes homes in the surrounding area that are typical 1500 square foot 3/2s FAR more affordable than these homes because there is no down payment requirement if income levels are below a pretty liberal max and payments are income based and not based on number of payments. The buyer for these homes is not a low income individual who is looking for affordable housing because there is far more attractive opportunities in the area. The buyer will be someone with more than normal amounts of cash and a desire to do something other than but a normally sized home for whatever reason. Money will not be one of those reasons because they could buy more home for less money in the area than these.

Also this is even in a good neighborhood

My garage is bigger than that

Comical, also they already cut the price and they're under $140k now.

I'd rather rent in an area with shops/restaurants than like in a detached apartment in the sticks.

I wonder if you bopped the first one over if they’d all tip like dominos.