Student Story: Is Tiny the New Big?

The average square footage for a tiny home is 225, for the average American home it’s 1,892 and for the average Texas home it’s 2,077, according to American Home Shield and RubyHome Luxury Real Estate.

How builders are looking for solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
Story by Victoria Murillo, Tyler Luker, Anthony Tarango and Maili Maldonado

There’s a current tug of war waging over what the idea of the traditional American home looks like.

In one direction, we have what most of us might envision as the American dream: a well financed dream home with a big yard and white picket fence. While on the other side, we have shrinking family sizes due to rising rent prices and energy costs that drive people to downsize, creating their version of a minimalist lifestyle in apartments and micro homes.

The housing crisis is changing home ownership, home construction and forcing people to look for alternative housing options. Builders recognize the new home owner is more flexible on square footage, knows what is necessary versus luxury, and they are interested in sustainable options.